This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:04] Jayke Workman: Oh my god, did you hear? Did you hear? Did you oh my god, guys? Take that high. Hi, Jake.

[0:16] Jayke Workman: Oh my god. Oh my god, you guys. Oh my pod. You guys, I am so excited to welcome both of my guests this week. You guys, not one little lady, but two. We have Miss Linedy Genao and Maiga Vidal in the studio. Welcome to the pod.

[0:40] Linedy Genao: Hi, gang.

[0:45] Maiga Vidal: I thought you were doing, I oh my god, I thought you were doing hi gay. Not my show literally having a song called Baby You're Gay. So on brand.

[0:57] Jayke Workman: Okay, you guys, we have to, I mean, I like barely gave an introduction, but we have the writer of a very fantastic and exciting new musical called Cafe Con Leche here. And we also have the star of the last reading that I got to see in studio, which was so so amazing. Maiga, you wrote the show and Linedy, you starred in it, and I I'm so excited to hear about it because it was like this little like seedling that I had heard things about before, but then my lovely friend, Mr. Hector Flores, directed this reading downtown. And um, oh, oh my god, is he popping in? Ah! Welcome!

[1:46] Jayke Workman: Um, so yeah, tell me, I guess, Maiga, I would love to know even just like the very initial idea and sort of like origin for this story and how you came to write it.

[1:59] Maiga Vidal: Yes, there's actually two origin points. Um, one of which I haven't even told Linedy or Hector about. So reveal no. Uh so first is drama on the pod. The drama on the pod. No. So the first is um during the pandemic, I realized if I'm gonna die, not to get all I mean, it's been five years now. Can you believe it? Um I was like, I'm not doing what I want, so let me do what I want. And that was like I was songwriting in LA trying to break through as a songwriter there. And um I pivoted back to my first love, which is musical theater, and I started like really dedicating to the craft of that during the pandemic. And then I watched actually you're online, Jake, so you would know this. So um when Bad Cinderella came out, okay, there was this video by Kate Ranking on TikTok.

Who have you heard of it? Yeah, but um Kate made this wonderful video about Linedy and um and about the material and how like Linedy was shining it. And I'm like sitting there, and I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna write it for Linedy. And that was literally the thing. Like, I yeah, I would I have this thing where I I've told Linedy this several times, but like now it's like the origin story. She's seen enough of the material where if she didn't like it, I feel like she wouldn't, she's like a genuine person. So if she didn't like it, she would like only not pretend. So I feel like now I can like be honest, like no, but like my biggest joy as a composer is like finding these like beautiful Latina voices.

And when I heard the bootleg, because I was living in California, and I was like, I want to write for that voice. So like I try and think of Linedy's range when I'm writing it. Also, I think we're closer in age than people would assume. I just live on the internet. So I think I just read a lot younger. Um, in terms of like Linedy's serious and very calm, cool, collected, you know. But I'm like, you know, the vibes are so different. Um, but so when I was thinking of this character, I really wanted to write it around Linedy's strengths. And so when I heard her do this reading, I was like whole in one. You know, when you have like a vision for something, and then somebody steps into it and you realize the suit that you tailored is like perfect.

Yeah. I was like, oh, it's like she's in my brain. Well, that's what I was trying to do. So, like, my my my my goal as a composer who's Latina is like I want to write these like meaty Latina parts for Latina actors to have because if I have to hear another, I love Eliminwell, I live in the heights, but if I have to hear someone else audition with an in the heights song, I am going to kill myself. Um, so I'm just trying to like the artist. And it's exactly, or you have On Your Feet. Yes. Or um, you know, I'm like Linedy's been in Linedy knows it all. Like, literally, so it's one of those things where that's sort of my goal, and I want to write for those voices. Like, when does he Sunset Boulevard with Mandy?

And in my head, I'm like, I already know what I want to write for her voice. Absolutely. It's there's so many, I think of like Patti LuPone, I think of like Bernadette Peters. Like all these great composers wrote for actresses that they loved working with. Yes. And that's my personal philosophy. Like, I want to not only showcase great American talent, but also be like within them. These Latinas are there. And they deserve parts to be written for them.

[5:36] Linedy Genao: Well, I think like stepping into it, you know, this story and and the way that you've written this show does that quite beautifully because while you are obviously highlighting the experience of being a Latin American, being an immigrant and living in a place where you are surrounded by people who are similar to you, if not the same, you know, coming from the same culture and background, you are also highlighting that, like while that is a singular experience, it's not the only experience in your life. You are an American as a Latina person. And so that was a really beautiful um element of the show. And I would love um, Linedy, if you would um tell me about sort of the difference between playing someone who is um so similar to you and intrinsic to the Latina experience versus doing something like Bad Cinderella, where while you are bringing that element of yourself to the story, that is not what it's about. You know, you're not necessarily commenting on that. Like, how was it um to sort of form this character for you in Cafe Con Leche?

[6:45] Linedy Genao: Um, well, first off, wow, thank you, Maiga, for all of that. That's girl, I love you honored. I also literally barely made it through that reading, by the way. My stepson had the flu. I was like about to die. Like my voice was like, as the songs kept going, I was like, oh my god, am I gonna make it? Like, what are you kidding? That's what I'm saying. Nobody talked to me. I didn't talk to anybody. I like so I literally just made it. Thank you. To the universe. Girl, you sounded gorgeous. So roughly. Can you imagine when she's healthy? God.

[7:19] Linedy Genao: Um, but I guess to form this character, I I didn't feel the same pressures as you know, with not that I felt pressure with Bad Cinderella, but but like you said, it's not because it's about that or about your experience, you know. With this, I didn't feel that pressure whatsoever. I got to bring my own experience, but at the same time, kind of like use the experience of other Latinos, of other human beings. And one of our incredible castmates, Eliseo Roman stated, like uh when we were having a table read, just how this is a universal story too. It happens to be a Latin family, but this story is universal. Yeah. Um, and so that really hit home too. And just um also hearing about the Chilean experience and you know, just everybody's different experience being Latino, which you know, we all have a shared experience, but also very different. But then also how this is an American, a human experience, right? So I thought that that was very special.

[8:16] Jayke Workman: Yeah. I mean, I always I joke because I'm like, I'm white as a toilet, and I have people on these podcasts who are like, I want to share other people's experience, and so the fact that like I get to is just like the icing on the cake for this podcast. But I'm still talking when we're still talking, like we gotta left through that.

[8:41] Linedy Genao: Okay, I'm sorry. Blanco, darling. But when I say like uh for me, obviously, like my whiteness and and the privilege that I carry into a rehearsal room or or something uh similar to like a reading at a workshop, you know. Um if it were in the context of a show like this, it would sort of um easily be stripped away because I would potentially be nervous that I would step on toes, um misspeak, you know, use incorrect language in talking about or or exploring the experience of Latin people. Um but it was a really lovely balance of joking about how you know white people come into these spaces and just uh think that it's gonna be a certain way or you know, comment on things it that they have no frame of reference for, but also honoring that like you you get to teach someone else.

There were there were like, you know, sort of B plots inside characters who did not have the Latin American experience, but were still working to tell the story, which I thought was really cool and really smart.

[10:09] Maiga Vidal: Yeah, my okay, so my number one goal is for the piece to feel like LA, which is where I'm from. And you know, I think my best friend growing up doing theater looked exactly like Natalie, right? Like blonde hair, um, very white, but her dad was Brazilian and her mom's white, so she's like culturally white, because your mom's raised you, whatever. The whole thing is just like I went to a 99% Latino school, and so they it was a different experience for them to come to that. And then when I went to undergrad, I went to a 99% white school, and that was a different experience for me. Yeah. So I think when you grow up in LA or even in New York or really any major city, there is this sort of thing where it's like, oh, you're just an Angelino.

Like we are just from LA. And that's actually way more important than like being Hispanic or being, you know, because to me, it's like an ideal casting of this, which we got very close to. It was like the core three are related, and that's why they're Latino, but everyone else could be literally anything else. Anyone, yeah. Um, and I wanted also to show that one, I love Guys and Dolls, and this is my Guys and Dolls reinterpretation. I'll talk about that later if you want. I have my whole freaking map of it. But in my head, like Miss Big and Natalie are two white women in conversation with each other. One because I genuinely feel like they are the best allies for this sort of thing when you're trying to um create art.

There, I have found that white women are the ones who are more likely to support my work. Um, but also like that there are ways to do that, and also like you have Joaquin and Mr. Herrera, they're they're roles that are in conversation for each other. Mr. Herrera is the banker who who wants to aspire to a certain kind of whiteness and Americanness, and Joaquin is the opposite, right? Like how to be American but still contain the thing that makes you Chilean or makes you Hispanic in the United States. And so I really wanted to be super intentional with that. Um, because I think that race is not in a vacuum. Um, and I think that blind casting has allowed the theater. Here we go, controversy, but it I hasn't. But they've just allowed the theater to avoid the conversation of race.

Of course. And I think that in a show where you are where you're trying to think about the balance of that. I know that I wanted my main four to be POC plus one white woman, right? Because then the balance is still to me, even.

[12:47] Maiga Vidal: I've done the job of bringing in a new audience who doesn't see themselves on stage, and I've done the job of an audience who's used to seeing themselves on stage and giving them something new. I know that there isn't a character like Natalie out there. There's probably a character like Ms. Big, right? But Natalie, this character who's like genuinely trying to learn Spanish, genuinely trying to be part of the culture because this is the culture that she grew up in, as much as it is Alejandra's, because that's what it's like to be in LA. That to me speaks to the power of what we have in common.

[13:23] Linedy Genao: For the listeners who have not had the pleasure of getting to experience it, where do we go with this show?

[13:32] Maiga Vidal: Okay. So Café con leche is the story of Alejandra, who is an accountant and works at her parents' donut shop, California Cappuccino, Donut Coffee, the long ass name, which is based on a real location. Which is also hilarious. And I implore you to never change it because every time anyone has to say it in the show, it's so funny. When people laughed, I was like, oh yeah, they're gonna go, they're gonna love this because they laughed at that. I was like, oh, they're gonna get it. Okay. It's so ridiculous, but it's such an immigrant. Anyway, she is an accountant, but she's deep, deep in the closet and refuses to come out to her parents and essentially have a private life of her own. Right. Because she still lives with her parents, which is very common if you're not married in the Latino family.

But and this is Eliseo, like he broke this open for me. It broke open with me with what we did in the room and Eliseo talking about his story. And I was like, okay, the show is about Alejandra having support, which a lot of queer people do, where you're out to your friends, you're out to your siblings, you're maybe, but you're not out to the big guns. You're not out to your grandparents, you're not out to your parents, and you're essentially living a double life. And so then when she meets Megan, who I won't spoil the whole reason she's there, but she's the conniving social, sorry, charming and conniving social media manager, and she makes Alejandra question, like, oh man, like maybe I do want what my parents have, which is like this deep love.

Meya Naranja is based off the myth of Sisyphus with like, you know, perfect halves create a whole. That's the Spanish translation of that is Meya Naranja, and so that's sort of started this whole concept for me. And at the core, it's like because I know that the parents, it's a comedy, so I'm hopeful that they'll accept Alejandra, right? Everyone's hopeful for that, but we have to make them suffer a little bit. So I have to make them likable, and they're in love. But yeah, the story ultimately is Alejandra realizing that there is a price to hiding your true identity, not only to yourself, but to the people who love you, because they don't actually get to know you.

[15:36] Maiga Vidal: And the reason why my turn, you know, we got to listen to that not only because Linedy can sing the fucking hell out of it, go listen to it on the EP. It's incredible. But also because that's it's a pun on my turn, right? There's a literal 11 o'clock number structure, it's a turn. The second thing of it's my turn now, whereas before everything was for her parents, and the actual physical thing of the turning of Donut Coffee into Cafe con leche, right? Cafe con leche itself as a speakeasy, as you know, moonlighting is a metaphor, a literal metaphor for her sexuality, her queerness. And so I try to build those things in very intentionally so that when Alejandra makes a decision of, you know what, we're gonna open cafe con leche, it's not an idea that came from somewhere else.

It's something that came from, you know, Megan coming into her life and changing the everyday into like the best day of her life. And my God, the chemistry between the two of them, you know, you write something and you're like, oh my god, my two characters are gonna fall in love. Like there's that scene where they almost kiss, and I literally, with my friend Tess, who is in my NYU program and is Felipe's girlfriend and was also Natalie, we were like literally staging it, right? I was like, okay, we're gonna grab her hand here and the hair there, and like the timing of it. And then when I saw it when Hector directed it better than I could have ever imagined, I was like, oh my god, they're gonna kiss. They're gonna kiss. And then they did it, and I was like, ah, then when they kiss at the end, you really get that like juicy, like anyway. That's what the show's about.

[17:10] Hector Flores: Well, that was another thing that I and Hector, please. I don't know if you were planning to speak or if you're here to chime, like just to watch, but that was something that I found so relatable and accessible. I took Spanish for years and I love Spanish, but obviously I didn't have people around me just like in my household to speak to day in, day out. So there were things that I could tap into when the characters were speaking in Spanish fully. But I was like, oh, I know what they're saying. And then there were other moments where even if I didn't catch every word or every syllable, I was still able to understand what was going on because of circumstance, but that also has to do with direction and the writing and the music.

So I'd love to know like what the sort of formula was for integrating people who are not Spanish speakers into this world and being able to like allow them to tell the story. And also, I guess for the listener, maybe even just like in a nutshell what this gorgeous musical is and what it says. It was I was so moved. And I only got to see like act one and some change. So I'm so excited to see it like fully fleshed out. But yeah, would you say that?

[18:27] Maiga Vidal: Bitch, me too. I'm like TikTok, my god, let's get some writing going. I will say this. Hector promised me one thing when we started working together. This was before Linelli got brought in. They Hector can tell the story of how they chose me, but I was not adamant to record this EP that we recorded. I told Hector, like, this piece is gonna change. I really don't feel like recording it will allow me to change it in the way that I want. And he was like, first off, if Hades Town can do it, you can do it. Relax. The second thing he promised me was that I wouldn't have to bring in translations and that I would be able to work with a cast regardless of race, right? Because we had, you know, full range, black, Filipino, Asian, white, like all of you know, not all those people speak Spanish.

Right. And yet I was still able to have a table read where I didn't have to build translations. For my thesis, right now, I'm working on like a fully bilingual musical where translations are part of the visual experience on stage. And for this, I really wanted to have the feel of what it's like to live in like a bilingual place. If you live in LA, you will be hearing Spanish. I mean, it's in New York, right? You'll be walking through New York and people will just be speaking whatever language, of course. And that's just part of the cadence of the color of the texture of it. But that's what made me want to work with Hector was him being like, I can direct this and I can make sure that it's understood, and you don't have to worry about translations because I know how to do that.

[20:01] Hector Flores: So I'm gonna pivot it to director, producer Extraordinaire.

[20:04] Maiga Vidal: Yes!

[20:06] Hector Flores: Well, I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having us. I think that in real life, especially if you live in a major city, you're walking by a lot of people and you're hearing a lot of languages all the time. And I think no matter what the language is, human context is what really tells the story. So if no matter what language they speak, if they're laughing, you know they're having a good time. If they're crying, you know they're hurt. If the inflection in which you say something, regardless of whether you say it in Hindi, Hebrew, or Italian, the feeling of the line still has to come through. Right. That's what the focus was for this thing. I feel like a lot of people, especially, you know, who move the money and give the money to Broadway shows are like, oh, you don't want to alienate this audience, you don't want to do this, you don't want to do that.

But I think that audiences are smarter than we give them credit for. And I feel like the people who we want to bring to the theater need to feel like they're invited. I Viola Davis had this on her Instagram a while ago, but she said that you need to see a physical manifestation of your dreams of someone like you being successful, and that's what I've kind of made my producing mission to be. So when this Amiga and I originally met on a cohort that I was a selection committee for, and then what I was able to bring to the cohort as the president of Theatre Records was to say, okay, all seven teams will pitch to Theatre Bar Records, and then we'll record an EP of one. And Maiga was the one, Grafia Bonicha was the one that everybody was like, Yes, this one's super cute, let's do this.

What I loved about it is A, it was a story about people like us just living their everyday lives, and the story just happened to be a good story. The music just happened to be music that was really gripping and that made you feel. And so when we decided that we were gonna record it, I was like, Okay, Micah, you got two songs, we need one more, and we have a week to write it. Because we're really speaking, I got so I was like TikTok in the clock, and she was like, I will do it, I will do it. I wrote my turnover Thanksgiving break. He's like, sweet, we got Linetti for it, and because I was he was like, Who do you want for your dream cast? Right? I'm on the phone with I'm with my husband, it's Thanksgiving break, and I was like, Okay, my number one choice is Linetti, and he's like, I know Linetti, I'm actually really good friends with Linetti.

I can probably get her to say yes. And I was like, really? Then he calls me, it's like Linetti said yes, and I'm like, This is totally chill. This is the best day ever, thank you so much. Yeah. Hang up. I'm with my husband, my husband's military, so I'm literally like at a PX, and I'm like, and he's like, You cannot be screaming in the middle of this place. But then I, but then, but I feel like I need that 11 o'clock number/slash I want on. Like yesterday. Oh, and I need an arrangement and I need you to make a demo. And I was like, okay, yeah, I can do this.

[23:15] Maiga Vidal: I just love it. Like, I mean, to like speak to both of your points about how, you know, it's not we're not seeking translations, we're not shying away from fully having scenes and impactful moments entirely spoken in Spanish. I love that because in my opinion, it's kind of like if you get it, you get it. And if you're not in on it, you still get something out of the entire experience. But we're not doing this sort of like code switching, honoring the like white people or just anyone who isn't a first language Spanish speaker. This is a story that needs to be told, and this is the way it's going to be told, so figure it out. Like you'll get the context, and you'll get what we're saying, but you're not gonna get everything, and that's because it's not entirely for every single person who's going to be in the audience.

And I love that in the same way that like seeing something like Ja Ja's African hair braiding, where we were not shying away from the black experience in that show. We were it was by and for those people. This show is by and for the people who have had the experience of living with immigrant parents and the generational gaps and what it means to have parents who may not understand the queer experience. It's just it's so layered, and I loved that it of course, you know, there is something for everyone, but also we're not looking at it through a lens of cis straight white people. What I really love is that it's an American story because it's a story about your dreams, and it's a story about family, and it's a story about generations.

The flavor, the sabor from which that it's coming from happens to be a Latino flavor, but it is something that I think everyone can attach to and can enjoy because we all want to feel loved. We all want to accomplish our dreams. We all want to be able to get along with our families, and we all have those moments with our families where there is conflict. So it back to the point of this whole colorblind casting thing.

[25:31] Linedy Genao: I don't want casting to be colorblind. I want casting to see the color and celebrate the color and choose the color because the color was the best thing for the role. Color contrast. I mean, also just that here hearing, um, forgive me, I can't remember the character's name, but the mother of Rosa hearing her say, you know, so mis Americanos, I'm American. Like this, my experience is the American experience. I love it. And I, Linedy, I'd love to hear too about, um, sort of the Venn diagram and the crossover of being a native New Yorker and telling a story like this where you know you really do get to sort of honor your actual identity. Like how was it, um, to tap into something that is so close to your experience and who you are?

[26:27] Linedy Genao: I mean, again, I felt no pressures or reservations for myself more than anything, because usually it's me, you know? Um, but I just tapped in again. This is about dreams and family and love, something that we all know so well, you know? And again, you know, coming from a Latin household where family is everything, you know, and making your family proud. I really, really connected, um, with Alejandra that way because, you know, I would honestly say even to this day, but growing up, every decision I made was for my family and is, even if it hurt me, even if I put myself on the back burner, you know, um, putting honor to the family name and like not disappointing my parents and like obviously that, you know, that didn't honor my own personal stuff sometimes, but I felt that it, you know, they deserved that.

And like that's what I want to gift them, that's what I want to do. And so I really, really resonated with Alejandra in that way because she's putting, you know, on the back burner what her dreams are and what she wants for her family, which is something that I've done and still do a lot.

[27:37] Linedy Genao: Yeah. Well, and in that same way, I would love to know too, like, uh even prior to sort of like the launch of, uh, you know, you into the ether of like Broadway stardom when it came to, uh, Bad Cinderella and everything, I'd love to know like did you and do you still find that like the sort of code switching and, um, having to navigate audition rooms and, uh, like communication with, you know, who's behind the table? Does that affect the way that you approach work? Does that affect, um, which characters you're drawn to, what pieces of theater you are drawn to even just to audition for? Like, you know, obviously not every single piece of theater that you have worked on and will work on is going to, uh, honor the Latin experience or comment on it, but, uh, has that been something that affects the way you navigate the world of auditions and taking jobs?

[28:43] Linedy Genao: Yes and no. I mean, of course, I would love to always be a part of, you know, celebrating Latin art or, you know, art of minorities. Um, but I also don't want to be like the token Latina or be the, you know, the Latina they have to hire because they have to. Like, you know, for example in Dear Evan Hansen, that was definitely a culture shock for me because going from On Your Feet, you know, my Broadway debut with all Latinos about a Latino story, I was spoiled to involve a show where it's not about that at all. And I was, you know, I was going into a show that was already made, so I had to fit in the box that was, you know, and, and you know, the work that the originals had done and what the creatives had done, you know, and things like that, and you know, kind of having to shy away from me a lot more than usual.

That was really hard, but also eye-opening and also challenging. And I'm like, I do want to do work like this too, you know, but it definitely has opened my eyes and, you know, the code switching, I guess, with age and experience has gotten better, I guess. I still find myself again, even with Alejandra, like it makes me think, and not only with my family, but I feel like I either say yes all the time or like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's like, oh my, you know, oh my gosh. Like, you know, learning to advocate for myself, I guess. With time and experience, it's like, okay, you matter. You need to do the things that like make you happy because literally YOLO.

[30:20] Linedy Genao: Um episode, yes. Literally YOLO episode with um, yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. YOLO about interruption. Y'all period.

[30:39] Hector Flores: I know this video. I want to say two things. First, is that my favorite thing about Linedy, and it's not something she can control, like it's natural to her, it's her cadence, right? When she speaks, when I write characters, I always think about cadence and accents and the way that they should be, because I think a lot of like really talented actors are limited because they can't pronounce things the right way with the super crazy annotation. And I'm like, why is that negative? That should actually be a plus. Let's spin that, let's write something for that. And that's not that saying Linedy can't do that. She clearly can, but I think that there is something to hearing Linedy speak in her own cadence and hearing the cadence in my head, and then hearing the character that does so much backstory lifting for the character that I don't have to write into the text.

[31:30] Hector Flores: Right, right. Right? That's the power of the actor. They get to add themselves into it, which is why when I wrote Alejandra, I try to write it around Linedy in particular. It's so lovely, it's so funny, it's so smart. I would love to ask about the, um, in speaking about the construction of the play. Um, we can't talk about it without talking about the music and how that impacts the storytelling. I wrote that too. Um, like, how do you, as a writer, but also Linedy and Hector as a director, um, like where do, um, the sort of elements all come together? Like, do you, did you find that you wrote this piece, um, musically first? Did you find that you wrote the sort of like dramatization of the scenes first and then they inform the music?

And also, like for you, Linedy, like, um, when you are approached for a project like this and they have something that already exists. Is it the type of thing where you hear the music and think I could do that, but I'd like to do it this way? Like where I'm just so, uh, new musicals to me are so fascinating, and I'd love to know like how everything sort of like molded and like melded together in this way.

[32:50] Maiga Vidal: Um, I like I'll start and then I'll pass it to Linedy because Linedy is the receiving end of this. But I, the process has changed a lot. I've been writing this since 2021. Um, so it'll turn four years to see her in May, but I've been working like I've been in development since 2023, so it hasn't been that long, March 2023, so it hasn't even been two years. So I would say that now my process is book first. I approach this as a very meticulous playwright. Um, and from there, I do what's called song spotting. So Hector gave me a one-week extension because I just finished writing my 45-minute thesis, and he's like, you get one extra week, I'm out of town, make it happen. So I wrote everything from Fran's song, everything from Fran's song until the last song Alejandra, which I already had.

I wrote all of that on Christmas Day, which I then workshopped for a week. But that's sort of the I need just I just needed time for a breakthrough. I realized I was 30 pages wrote short, so I wrote 30 pages. Um, but the thing is it's just like I now I knew where I wanted it to go, and the character became very clear to me. And so I wrote the play, right? So what you saw was like the first act, like the three-act structure, has is fully musicalized, right? I've done the song spotting where I'm like these little songs go and I'm gonna take out the scene. But because we were experimenting with length and like really listening to this, I was like, for this second half, I just want to see if the play works because if the people are laughing, if people are crying, if people are really getting it, then turning that into a song is actually obvious.

Sure. Um, so like right, like I have the Merry Villagers talk about the coffee shop. Like that's clearly gonna be an ensemble number, right? But I needed to know if those comedic beats would work, and that only works on book first. And then I write the score, I approach all of the Alejandra Rosa music on guitar as a composer. And then I tend to write a lot of the like Megan's big number on piano, just to create like a separation because when I'm writing on guitar, which is my main writing instrument, I think more like Nueva Canción, which is Chilean style, or I think more folk like Joni Mitchell. Um, and then when I write on piano, I'm thinking more like right, like I'm thinking like big Broadway number, which is like corporate hell or Miss Biggs number, um, the big coffee number.

And those are more piano centric, um, or cow, I always imagine them as like cabaret numbers. Um so that is what guides me. So then when I'm writing Megan's song in Act Two, what do I do? I write it on guitar because Alejandra has changed her, and so now she has a new palette. When I wrote my turn, I wrote it on piano because Alejandra has been changed. And so I can't write her song on guitar anymore. Even though when you hear the arrangement that Felipe did, gorgeous arrangements by Felipe Segovia, right? It's still a guitar song, but the way I approached the composing process was different. And then I give my songs to Hector and he does the rest. So I don't even know what Linedy thought. He just came and said yes. And I was like, this is the best day of my life.

[35:45] Linedy Genao: Yeah, Linedy, did you feel like the freedom to put your own sort of stamp on all of these tunes? I mean, you were singing down. I was like, girl. Listen, this music, usually I pick up music really quick. I was, it was a struggle buzz. This was hard. This music was hard in 29 hours, also. Let's not forget. Um, we need a drums. Okay, everything's extremely syncopated because I write with a metronome in my head. Like, I mean, I always approach things music first because I'm just more comfortable with music. And like I always think of myself as a singer first, right? And that's how my love of like art started through song. Um, and then, you know, the songs then help inform me more of the story. So then I go to the text and like fill all, you know, the rest in, and then again, plug the songs back in, and I'm like, oh my god, it all makes sense.

Um for me, the songs, yeah. I felt, uh, I felt a lot of freedom. Uh, the lyrics themselves just told so much of the story. I learned so much about the story just through the lyrics of the song, and I learned so much about who Alejandra was through the lyrics. Like I haven't been able to get the songs out of my head, especially the parts that I was plunking out. Listening over and over and over. I like my favorite parts now. Um but yeah, it's really interesting to hear what your process is. I love hearing that about the different instrumentations per character and why. Like that, that's really really cool.

[37:13] Linedy Genao: Um, but yeah, for me, I just sing at first. I have to learn it like plunked out, right? And then, you know, after hearing it and just finding, you know, my little isms that makes sense. Like, I'm not the type of person that's like going crazy for nothing, you know what I mean? Um, ripping here for just the fun of it. We're gonna rips in, I write the rips in. And then he can't deny that I'm writing in those rips, baby. Period. Oh gosh. But yeah, that's my process. But that's really, really cool to hear that. Um, so you came on when we were doing the EP and you just got to sing a little bit of the show, and then we were at in the studio, and Maiga, you were telling her about the show a little bit, and this past week you were able to jump into the story of act one and really start to take this character apart and put it back together. Um, what has each stage been like, uh, in the beginning processes of creating this musical for you as an actress?

[38:14] Linedy Genao: Yeah, I mean, the doing the EP again, I wasn't really familiar with the meat of the story, like what the story was really, really about.

[38:22] Linedy Genao: And so that for me was more just a musical situation, just singing the songs, like not really being invested in the story or the character because you know, we're recording the demos, right? So then doing this was such a treat because I'm like, I'm dying to know what happens in the story, yeah.

[38:41] Maiga Vidal: Yeah, like what is going on? Because I'm obsessed with the song "Alejandra." Where does that fit in what's happening? Dude, it's so sexy. You guys did it so well. Um, and so then when we got to do the reading, I'm like, again, finally, I get to know what this is about. And it was such a beautiful treat to hear, you know, the story and hear everybody's experience. We had a beautiful, beautiful session at our first table read again where everybody shared personal things, and it's just I don't know, it was really eye-opening to then go back and understand the depths of the songs that we recorded and how they fit into the show, and sing them differently this time, having that knowledge and understanding the story was a completely different experience.

[39:27] Maiga Vidal: So I do have to say too, I think it was seeing it from an outside perspective. Um, it was a really refreshing take on something so contemporary. Uh, just this the subject matter of like going viral on the internet and what it means to sort of use that to your advantage and whatever. Because I, girl, I have seen some horrible musicals where they mentioned TikTok, and I want to freaking rip my—I don't have hair, but if I did, I would rip it because it's so—I hate that sort of like, I'm completely taken out of the storytelling because all of a sudden I'm reminded of TikTok in the real world, but this show did it so well and so easily that it just completely was seamless and did not take me out at all.

[40:23] Jayke Workman: Was that a conscious thing for you, Maiga? And also for you, Hector, as a director. Like, is that something that you have to be conscious of when you are creating a world?

[40:36] Maiga Vidal: I will say two things. Um, the first thing is like Linedy does not give herself enough credit. Like when we were recording the EP, she came up to me, she's like, "So, what do you do this? And what is this? And what is..." and that was so helpful to me when I went into the rewrite of these songs that then we were able to do for this from that EP session because nobody had ever asked me those questions before. And so through that recording, I was able to then develop this thing.

[41:02] Maiga Vidal: I will say, uh, I am like uber intentional. Um, when we were—when I sent a draft to Hector in October, from that October draft that I sent to the draft we did in January, I wrote four drafts of act one in full in between there because I'm a big believer that, uh, you know, I don't think I'm very talented or whatever, whatever, but I do think that I can control working very hard. And so I try and—

[41:30] Jayke Workman: Are you a Virgo?

[41:34] Maiga Vidal: Pisces, baby.

[41:35] Jayke Workman: Pisces! My mom's a Virgo, so I think it does explain so much about me.

[41:40] Maiga Vidal: Yeah. Um, but I think that that's sort of my approach to this, where I really wanted the story to be a rom-com between the mother and daughter and between Alejandra and Megan. So TikTok couldn't get in the way. So I had to be so intentional about bringing it in because I needed it to feel really organic.

[41:58] Hector Flores: Yes.

[41:59] Maiga Vidal: And that can only come from it being extremely earnest. You know, and this is where Rihanna like really does it working.

[42:05] Hector Flores: It works, yes.

[42:06] Maiga Vidal: Because content-making machine should make you laugh, and yet when she says it, you're like, "Oh no, she is being deadly serious. She is going to win a hundred thousand dollars." And there's, you know what I'm saying? The premise is ridiculous, but it only works because it's approached from a point of earnestness, and that's sort of my writing style.

[42:27] Maiga Vidal: Um, so then when I kicked it off to Hector, I—what did you think? What'd you think, dog?

[42:32] Hector Flores: I'm a sucker for rom-coms. My partner loves horror, but I love people falling in love. I love the idea of silly things, and it's hard to make a rom-com musical. Like there are very few that have been successful. And so when we were coming at this, because in a rom-com, you find yourself in these ridiculous situations. And like my guy said, the ridiculous situations can only work if every character honestly and wholeheartedly buys into what it is that they need and how they're gonna get it and the circumstances they find themselves in.

[43:06] Hector Flores: So when we got into the table read and we were working on making these scenes work, I was like, "Okay, well, there's some things we're gonna need, and we gotta make this work, and there needs to be like a moment of breathing here," like when Ryan took the sip of the coffee that maybe not for the first time. Um, Felipe has this like little pit of music that plays, and it's like angelic music when she takes the sip.

[43:29] Hector Flores: Yeah, and then she starts explaining, and there's a beat, and sh—my guy had written in an ellipsis, but I was like, "Rian, the beat needs to be louder. Can you give me something kind of like..." and then it got a giggle, and then that little—those little minutiae really is the connective tissue between what's on the page and then what the audience receives, yes, and it's finding those little moments along the way to help tie it all up.

[44:01] Linedy Genao: So it's this comical piece.

[44:05] Hector Flores: Yeah.

[44:05] Hector Flores: And also like just thinking about how game actors are, especially at this level. Like, um, you know, I'd go in and I was like, "Okay, let's cut this, let's cut this, let's add this, let's cut this."

[44:17] Linedy Genao: Yeah, like recording how we cut—we cut half the song.

[44:20] Hector Flores: Being the actor and being like, "No, no, no, no, no, wait, wait. I like that. I have something, I have something that I want to do there. Can you not just for one second?"

[44:26] Linedy Genao: Yeah, I mean, Linedy did save a couple lines, I will not lie.

[44:29] Hector Flores: Okay, but like my instinct is like, let actors act, words are getting in the way.

[44:34] Linedy Genao: Oh, yes, sorry that. But actors are also very much like, "Wait, wait, wait, I can fix this." And then they deliver the line that you didn't even know it could be done.

[44:41] Hector Flores: And that's also with Hector too, right? Where it's like, "Oh, I know you imagine it like this, but let me show you something."

[44:49] Maiga Vidal: And then I saw it and I was like, "Well, actually, there was this moment where Joaquin, I was like, he has to be in the scene. He has to be, he has to witness us."

[44:56] Hector Flores: And he's like, "Trust me, he's gotta leave to get the donut so Fran can sing the freaking reprise of 'California Cappuccino.'"

[45:03] Maiga Vidal: And I was like, "Well, you just please let me see it the way I wrote it, please." And then I saw it, and I was like, "I'm sorry, I read that. How did you—um, you were right, he needs to go."

[45:06] Hector Flores: You were right.

[45:14] Maiga Vidal: He needs to know.

[45:16] Maiga Vidal: But it was one of those moments where Hector was like really respected me as a writer. I think if I hadn't seen that first version, I would have always been like, "When we do it again, I would have needed to see it anyway."

[45:25] Hector Flores: Sure.

[45:26] Maiga Vidal: But by being like, "Girl, watch it and then watch my take." And I was like, "Yeah, you know what? I actually, I'm gonna write that into like the final version." And that's sort of the joy, right? Of like, this is why it can't be a writer's game. I'm very adamant that I can't be the voice in everything, which is why I work with an arranger/orchestrator.

[45:45] Hector Flores: Yes.

[45:45] Maiga Vidal: Um, I—a lot of composers, and it's not like a dig or anything, but they do like having control over that because then they get full expression, and I am very adamant that there's no way that I have every right answer in my head. And you know, sometimes Linedy would ask a question, or like we were doing "Meya Naranja," and they're like, "They don't sync up. Why is that?" And it was like super intentional for me because I was like, they can't sync up because they're not together yet.

[46:09] Maiga Vidal: That's why Alejandra is the first time they ever sing together in perfect harmony at the very end of the act. I make you wait for that because you know that it's coming as an audience. If you've seen musicals, you know they're gonna sing in harmony. But so I get to control what that happens.

[46:21] Maiga Vidal: But being asked that question, right, makes me be like, "Okay, that was intentional. How do I tell that to my team? How do I explain that to my orchestrator and my, you know, my pianist? How do I talk to Hector about the way that I composed this and how that's on stage that's different than it like being sung, right? It's gotta be acted."

[46:40] Maiga Vidal: So it makes it musical. Um, and that's just so fun about having, you know, 20 plus people on this team and being like, "I don't have to make every choice, and also not every choice I make is the right one." Um, that's what makes theater so freaking cool in my—so cool.

[46:56] Hector Flores: I love it.

[46:57] Maiga Vidal: And I love it that it is so collaborative, and that when we started rehearsals, I'm the—the way that I like to explain it when I'm directing it, we have this script, and all of your characters are like a coloring book. You can color inside the lines, you can color outside the lines, you can color it with any color that you want. So feel free to let your creativity soar.

[47:20] Maiga Vidal: And then if there's—if we say, "Hey, we might need more, we might need more blue, or we might need more orange," like let's try that. And because it's a new work, the lines bend and the lines change.

[47:33] Hector Flores: Sure.

[47:33] Maiga Vidal: So just be adaptable and be ready for those things. And knowing that, I mean, we both are of the mindset that I'm not gonna have all the answers. I'll have as many as I can, but like let's work together to get across the finish line. Because if you want to go fast, you go alone. But if you want to go far, you go together.

[47:49] Hector Flores: I have worked with quite a few who certainly do think that they have all the answers, and they don't.

[47:56] Maiga Vidal: So that is a refreshing take.

[47:59] Jayke Workman: Darlings. But I thank you all so so much for being here. Before I let you go, I'd love to just know can you share with the listeners, you know, without revealing too much, where they can sort of follow along with the journey of this show, Cafe Con Leche, and where they can find you all on the socials to see what the next iteration of the show will be.

[48:22] Maiga Vidal: The next iteration. You can ask my producer about that who happens to be on this call. Um, but you can listen to the show.

[48:31] Linedy Genao: At the microphone.

[48:33] Maiga Vidal: Um, you can listen to the show everywhere you listen to streamer. We have a developmental EP/concept EP.

[48:39] Maiga Vidal: Uh, literally everywhere. Elinelli sings "My Turn" and "Alejandra" with Taylor Brown Jones, and it's freaking incredible.

[48:44] Linedy Genao: It's so good.

[48:45] Maiga Vidal: And you can also listen to the radio cut of "California Cappuccino" Dominic Coffee, which is my seven-minute opening number. Um, but also if you want to see me literally write the show from when the idea first started in May 2021 up until now, you can go on my YouTube channel, and I've literally been documenting the entire process of writing it.

[49:04] Linedy Genao: So if you want to see how a musical is made from the other side, you can indeed watch that.

[49:09] Maiga Vidal: And then also if you want to see my crazy Instagram stories, because I'm unfortunately a poster, follow me on Instagram at @maigavidal.

[49:18] Linedy Genao: Linedy, where can we find you?

[49:20] Linedy Genao: You can find me on Instagram at @linedygenao.

[49:24] Maiga Vidal: And yeah.

[49:29] Hector Flores: And you can find me at @hectorfloresjunior35 on Instagram. Um, if you want to know more about new musicals and more coming from Cafe Con Leche, you can check it out at New York Theatre Barn.org or at, uh, yeah, at nytheaterbarn.org.

[49:45] Maiga Vidal: Hold on, let's edit this.

[49:57] Maiga Vidal: There we go.

[49:58] Hector Flores: Yes. Period.

[49:59] Maiga Vidal: And as far as like what's next for the show, I believe Maiga has—Micah has a writing retreat that she's going on with her cohorts, and then there's a little workshop going on in Phoenix.

[50:08] Maiga Vidal: Uh, a little writing.

[50:09] Maiga Vidal: Yeah, I'm actually leaving for that on Sunday.

[50:10] Maiga Vidal: We'll be actually, yeah. I don't know if this will—when this will come out, but next, um, next Sunday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'll be doing a cabaret of Cafe Con Leche titled "Cafe Con Leche: How It's Made" because it's a pun.

[50:22] Maiga Vidal: And so I'll be going into songs that aren't in the script anymore, how songs developed, what the history is.

[50:29] Jayke Workman: Um, so if you are in Phoenix, Arizona at Phoenix Theater Company, uh, come check it out.

[50:35] Maiga Vidal: Amazing!

[50:36] Linedy Genao: I can't believe that's true.

[50:37] Maiga Vidal: I totally forgot about that.

[50:38] Linedy Genao: Oh, I'm so bad.

[50:39] Maiga Vidal: Oh, we—I was in class all day, okay.

[50:43] Jayke Workman: There will be more soon.

[50:44] Maiga Vidal: There'll be more.

[50:45] Jayke Workman: Well, thank you all so so much for being here. I so enjoyed getting to see the workshop, and I cannot wait to see more of Cafe Con Leche soon.

[50:57] Linedy Genao: Oh my god, oh my god, you guys.