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Speaker 1: Hey everyone, this is Alan with a special bonus episode straight from the press day for Romy and Michelle the Musical. I got to sit down with a good chunk of the creative team and the cast to talk about how this story went from a play to the beloved film, and now after years of development as a musical on the New York stage, yes, at first I said a play. But did you know it was a play before it became the film we all love? So you'll hear from Robin Schiff, who wrote the original screenplay from the Romy and Michelle movie, director Kristin Hange, and stars from the cast including Laura Bell Bundy and Kara Lindsay who are stepping into the iconic roles of Romy and Michelle, and they share why, you know, the timing just feels right right now, why the show is such a joy bomb as they say, and how they've each connected to these unforgettable characters. So it's a little lighthearted behind the scenes look at the musical that celebrates friendship, nostalgia, and gives you a lot of laughs, something that we desperately need these days. So if you're not watching this, you can find it on Patreon or on Spotify in video form, and it's audio everywhere else. You find your podcasts, of course, so leave a rating and a review. And now we kick this off with some opening remarks from co-lead producer Stephen Sussie, followed by two performances. Here we go. Please welcome to the stage, Stephen Sussie.

Speaker 2: Hello everyone, my name is Stephen Sussie. I am co-lead producer of Romy and Michelle the Musical. This is such a milestone event for us. I've been involved with this show for nine years. We've had a very long development process, but we are here and we are so excited to be opening at Stage 42. And we are just thrilled to have this opportunity to share our excitement for Romy and Michelle. I also want to give a shout out to some of our key creative collaborators that have been with us for a really long time. Robin Schiff, who's in the back somewhere, I cannot see. She's our book writer, but as you all probably know, she is the screenwriter of the original film, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. Somebody else you may not know is that Romy and Michelle made their first appearance in a play. So Robin wrote a play called Lady's Room, which I think was in the late 80s. It came out. And Romy and Michelle were characters in that play. So this is really a full circle moment for us to see Romy and Michelle on stage in New York. We also have Gwen Sanford and Brandon Jay here. Again, long-term collaborators with us. And also we have Kristen Hange, my good friend. Kristen, who I've known for 25 years. And I'm going to pass this off to Kristen, but I just want to thank all of you for being here. We are thrilled to be here and we cannot wait to open at Stage 42 on October 14th.

Speaker 3: Hi. Thank you so much for being here. Someone just said to me, we need Romy and Michelle right now. I don't know about you, but with everything going on in the world, laughter feels so good. It feels like medicine. Being silly, remembering that there's something great about being human, and that this show celebrates acceptance and being who you really are. It feels like a true gift to give this show at this time. So we also have been thinking about this show as a party. And it's a party we want to invite everybody to. It's a party for all of New York. And we want to collaborate with you as press with that party, that throwing a party vibe. And so we're looking for ways to collaborate that are out of the box, that are left of center, that are a little weird, because that's what this show is. And so we invite you into the party. This party is yours. This party is for all of us. And we get to have a good time. So to kick off our first number, I'd like to invite J. Sean Jackson. J. Sean plays Toby Walters. Now, from the movie, you might remember the effervescent Cameron Manheim as Toby Walters, who is obsessed with the tenure reunion and planning it. Well, J. Sean, as Toby, has a wonderful song in act two called Welcome to the Party. Also, we want to let you know that this show is filled with production numbers. And obviously, here at the Laurie Beacham, we don't have all the stage space to do our wonderful dance numbers that are choreographed by the incredible Carla Luna Garcia. I want you to come to the show, if only just to see her work, because it is so fierce. But we're going to be sharing footage from our rehearsals with you, so you can see how fun these dance numbers are. But without any further ado, I'm going to pass it off to J. Sean, who's going to officially welcome you to the party. I do want to say that in this number, underneath J. Sean's jacket, there is a sparkly sequined vest, which is very important for you to know, for later on in the song.

Speaker 4: I'm tingling with excitement, or maybe that's just fear. This really comes together after planning for a year. I hope that people notice all the little things I've done. I want it to be perfect, and hope everyone has fun. Isn't it fantastic? The forks are even faster. I worked so hard on this display, this whole buffet. The sushi tastes as fresh as it did yesterday. We're going to throw a party. We're going to throw a party that you'll never see. We're going to throw a party. And reminisce what it was like to be a teen. What does it mean to anyone that's in between? I feel dirty if I breathe. This is what everyone will think. Sparkly vests, sequined sequins. And of course, we'll send drinks. I need some help to stand out as a host. Hey, could you be honest? What do you think of this vest? Figure skater? Oh. I thought it was fantastic. But maybe that's too drastic. I guess this might not be the day to dress this way. The first guests are arriving soon. I'll be late. Welcome to the party. Welcome to the party. Hello, class of 1987. Hey! Welcome to the party. Welcome to the party. I hope you all die and go to heaven. This is really good. I can't wait to hear what you've been up to. Welcome, welcome, welcome. It's time for the party. Give her drinks and dance with me. Okay. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Good day to the party. And to me, Tash. Welcome, welcome, welcome. See you at stage 42. At the party.

Speaker 5: So, if you do not know, Romeo and Michelle is a story of two young women who have gone out to L.A. to live their dream. And they think that their lives are great, being very best of friends, until they get a call from Toby Walters that their 10-year reunion is coming, which sends Romeo into dread, because what have they been doing for 10 years? So, they decide, knowing that high school was pretty traumatic and they have lots of bad memories, they decide that the only way they can go back to their reunion is if they make up a lie. And so they decide to say that they are successful because they invented Post-its. Now, I know it's hard to believe, but this lie does not go over well in the reunion. And so, they make up this whole lie about who they are, and that is the first time their friendship starts to crack. It tears them apart, that lie. And it isn't until their plans get ruined that they can realize, oh, hey, maybe we were good enough the way we were. In fact, maybe our lives were just great being us and being best friends. And maybe there was nothing wrong with us to begin with. And I think in this whole world of social media, where we want to compare ourselves to other people, this message of, like, maybe I'm okay the way I am is a really important one. And this show also centers female friendship. One of the things I love about Robin's bit of the script in the movie that they create back in the day is it's a platonic love story. And when do you see work that is about just the love of your very best friend? So Robin always talks about, we are making this as a love letter to that one person that always has your back, no matter what. So I'd like to welcome to the stage Laura Belfundi as Romy. And Karen Lindsay as Michelle. And to set up this number, we see them in 1987 at their high school prom.

Speaker 6: They're both wearing two different versions of Madonna looks. Do I look fat in this tutu? No! I swear to God, Romy, your stomach is so flat, it's like your head on Cher's body. Thanks! I'm so lucky getting mono. That was, like, the best diet ever. So at this prom, Romy gets up her courage and she decides to ask her high school crush, Billy Christensen, if he will dance with her. Billy? Hi. Do you want to dance? Just so, because this song is so great. Never mind. Unless you don't even want to. Yeah, I mean... Yeah, sure! Why not? Really? Um, could you wait here? I'll be right back. So now, Romy is over the moon. Her dream is coming true. Until Billy never shows. And suddenly she realizes that her dream isn't going to happen. She's been stood up. Maybe he's passed out in the bathroom or something. Want me to go check? He's not in the bathroom, Michelle. You're better off. I know there are nicer guys out there. Wanting to see what you make me believe. You bet they're all laughing, it just doesn't seem fair. It's not your fault. Romy Tucson is totally toxic. If they don't get us, we can't let it upset us. These people are all pathologic. I was hopping on out last night. Somehow they see us in a whole new light. So what we're doing tonight is a giant mystery. Why no one here can see just how great we are. In a way we'll fit right in. With lives we finally began. People there will think we're cool. So screw this stupid school.

Speaker 7: Michelle? Hi, I'm leaving. If there's any way you could spare a hug, I would really appreciate it. Okay, bye. She didn't say no. She reached out her hand to embrace me. My darling Michelle, this won't be farewell someday. I'll be the man you want me to be. Of course he said no. He reached out, but he only rejects me. Sammy freak, go to hell, you'll never get with Michelle. One of these days you'll regret losing me. I hate you. I hate you. I love you. I love you. Percy, are you okay in there? Go away, Mother. Daddy and I are watching her. She wrote, if you want to come down and join us. Mother, please, just leave me alone. I want to die with you. I'm so all alone. I always end up alone. It's a giant mystery. Mother, unless we all leave. This feeling ruins my heart. Oh, as long as I shall live. I'll marry whoever it is. Someday she'll be mine. And I'll take the stars outside. I'll never leave you. Okay. It's a giant mystery. No one here can see. Just how brave we are. When we're living in a maze. We don't know what they say. We'll leave behind these stars. And live our lives like stars. And we'll never look back.

Speaker 8: That was Michael Thomas Graham, who plays the role of Sandy. And Jordan Kai Burnett, who you saw as Heather. We are so excited about this dynamic cast. As you can see, they are just filled with talent and humor and grace. We can't wait for you to join us at Stage 42. And have a romeo and michelle day. Don't go anywhere. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

Speaker 9: All right, everyone, now we're back. I'm Jordan Kai Burnett and I play Heather Mooney. I'm Michael Thomas Grant and I play Sandy Frank. And how long have you guys been in the workshopping, the rehearsing, the involved in the productions of this particular? We could say it at the same time, but ten years. Which is also a song in the show, which is really fun. You guys only look like you're 15. That's correct. Thank you so much. Please tell my mother you said that. We were five when we started. We were. Michael and I are sort of, we started doing this ten years ago together. And we are very lucky to be the last two from the original crew of people. Original, original. We are the original originals. And we are very proud of it. Yeah. We love doing this show and we love doing it together.

Speaker 10: How has it evolved in the last ten years to get it to where it is now? I mean, it's changed kind of every step of the way. It's gotten bigger and smaller and more epic and more personal. And it's been like a really interesting honing process. So bigger and smaller. More personal. Bigger than. Smaller than. Less personal. More production numbers, but like smaller cast. There is something about this version that is a smaller cast than we had, say, in Seattle a few years ago at the Fifth Avenue. It's a smaller cast, but I would say that the production numbers are more involved and more elaborate. It's a much bigger undertaking in terms of a dance show. Right. And so I know what you mean when you say bigger but smaller because at one point there was a whole ensemble behind the rest of the cast. And now everybody is playing everybody. So it feels a little bit like a yearbook in that way in that you're flipping the pages and everybody is everywhere.

Speaker 11: Oh, that's so cool. That's a very interesting concept. And the audiences, have they been getting this, like as you're going through the various iterations? I'm curious to know how the kids these days like this show versus my age. I'm almost 45. This is my movie. Well, the format of the movie is very much like a classic. It became a TV trope over time of different shows doing Romy and Michelle of like, let's go back to our reunion, but pretend to be different. So the story kind of has been reinterpreted in like a thousand different formats. So like the kids have seen.

Speaker 12: Yeah. I also think that when we talk, we've mentioned Robin recently. I said this to her. I was like, you sort of made like a, before you knew that it was going to be a meme, there are so many moments from this movie that are now memes, for example, or gifs, like things that maybe the kids, even if they don't know what they're doing, they're still sending the, you know. And wow, I sounded kind of old when I said that. But anyway. When they're sending the memes. When they're sending those memes. The gifs and they move around. But it is sort of a, I think there are plenty of people who are 15 years old and who are seven years old. Thank you so much. Who do know the movie. But I think what the treat of the show is that it is accessible for everyone. And I think the things that have really changed are like the things that needed to change, you know, a show that that is from 30ish years ago is going to have some, some edges to soften or some things to bring out more. And I think that the writing team has been very conscious of that.

Speaker 13: That's interesting. In the right way. That's very cool. So are you feeling the same thing like when you talk to audiences afterwards and whatnot? I mean, the fan base for Romy and Michelle is always extraordinary. They are committed to the bit and they are and they have been living the bit since the film came out. And so I think whether or not it's the super fans or it's somebody who's going to just be a fan of the musical, there is a there's a love from these audiences that we're hoping will continue on through our New York run. I love that.

Speaker 14: All right. And something I asked to wrap up my normal long form episodes is if you can only see one show for the rest of your life, you can see it as many times as you want. What would you say? Well, OK, I have a question about your question. Is it a show or is it a production of a show? You can interpret it however you would like. OK. Well, I, I would. Do you have an answer? I'm formulating. OK. I want to be very clear that when I answer a question like this, that in 10 minutes from now, my mind could change. Tomorrow, I could give you a different answer. I don't want this to be like my forever answer. But in this moment right now, it would be the 1998 revival of Cabaret.

Speaker 15: And I was going to say Cabaret. Well, just kidding. Well, I think that's the right answer. I like that a lot. I mean, I love this most recent production, too. I love that show. But I think that the important thing about the 98 is that they added my hair and they added maybe this time. And I want I really want to see it when it has those in it. Yes, I agree. OK. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. On finally making it to the stage here in New York. Ten years later. I can't wait to see this on its feet. Thank you so much. It's great meeting you. Thank you. You, too. Hooray!

Speaker 16: I'm Robin Schiff. I wrote the movie Romy and Michelle. You've got to start again. I couldn't say the name of my own movie. I'm Robin Schiff. I wrote the movie Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. The original. The original. And I wrote the book to the musical. Lovely. And introduce yourself. And I'm Kristen Hange. And I'm directing the musical Romy and Michelle.

Speaker 17: How long have the two of you been working together on this project? I've been on this project for over 13 years. Oh, my God. And I've been on it longer and I'm not going to say how long. Have you always like I guess when it was originally written, did you originally see it as a musical or was that never kind of in the cards at the time? It wasn't in the cards at the time. At the time I was busy adapting it from my play to a movie and I couldn't have seen that it would be a musical. And the reason why it came about was one of the producers, Larry Mark, calls me up one day and he said these two guys have written two songs for a Romy and Michelle musical. Just randomly. Randomly. And sent it over and I was in the Groundlings comedy group at the time and I was like this is like a bad Groundlings sketch. This is horrible. If I was doing the musical, it would all sound like the Go-Go's and there would be a changing booth on stage. And I went off and he was like, I love that. We should do that. And then unfortunately I listened to it. Unfortunately? No, no, no. I couldn't be happier that I'm here, but it's been a really long journey and I was so naive when it got started.

Speaker 18: Right. So you got involved 13 years ago, but how long, when did you get started then if you said it's been a long journey? So it must have been even farther than that. It's been over 20 years. Wow. Yeah, because how long, I should know this, when did the movie get released? It got released in 1997. So like last year. Okay. But the original play, when did you write The Ladies Room? Well, the play Ladies Room had a production in 87, but I created the characters in 85, so that's literally 40 years ago. Wow. Yeah, isn't that nuts? People say you need IP to get anything made in the business and I'm like I just wrote my own IP and all I had to do was wait 40 years.

Speaker 19: Is this based on a true story at all? Did you have to go back to your high school reunion and make up all these stories? No. I was a combination of everyone. I was a combination of Heather, Romy, Michelle, and Christy. It's one of the reasons why I wanted Romy and Michelle to be mean to other people and not just be the lowest on the totem pole because we all had people that we were sort of looking up to and other people that we didn't even think of as human and I felt like that was just sort of the human condition.

Speaker 20: Wow. Yeah, I mean, it's a classic story of being othered and othering and finding a place to belong. You're nodding your head. Is that what attracted you to the production? Oh, yeah. I mean, I think that I was taken when I first saw the movie about like, oh, yeah, there's hierarchy in high school and oh, we do this thing where we rank people and it's gross. And I feel like when I first saw the movie, I was like, I've never seen it fully articulated that way. And then also I remember when I first saw the movie just being taken with a female friendship and that being centered, like to see a love story that's really about a friendship, that was really moving to me.

Speaker 21: So Frozen ripped you guys off. I mean, I'm not going to point fingers, but all right, Elsa. When the movie came out, there hadn't been. World of Henry Orient is the only movie I can think of that was about female friendship. And I can't really think of much else. And my best friend was so important to me. And I have a lot of female friends. And it can be the key relationship in your life, and yet it's an under-discussed and under-appreciated topic, I think.

Speaker 22: Right, right. Well, especially, I guess, like for women, too, to put women's stories front and center like this, maybe unfortunately that is part of why it took so long to get it to where it is now. And I'm glad that we are finally now at a place where we can put this kind of story front and center, and then the creative team has a lot of female representation in it. And I mean, why, I guess along those lines, why now if it's been, you've been involved for 20-plus years, 13 years for you. Some of the other cast has been involved for 10 years. It's taken a while. Why is now the right time to finally bring this to the New York stage?

Speaker 23: Well, I feel like we got lucky because the timing is so right. The movie has never been more popular. It's just amazing to me, the love for the movie. But it's a moment in time right now where if I'm personally going to spend the money to go to a show, I want to be transported for two and a half hours. And laugh. And laugh. And celebrate something that I can get behind. And I feel like, Kristen calls it a joy bomb, and I love it when she calls it that, but it's full of joy and love. But at the same time, it's still dark and funny like it was. It's real. It's real.

Speaker 24: Was it hard for the two of you to adapt the screenplay to a stage book? Or was it just kind of like a lift and shift? Well, I mean, interestingly enough, because Robin is from television, she will not let something rest until it's the best it can be. So I feel like a lot of the process was like we would write a song, write a scene, and then be like, oh, it's not quite there yet. And we spent a lot of time working on the structure of the musical and trying different things and trying different numbers. And I feel like even though it took a long time, it actually helped us make the best possible show. Like the show's never been stronger in terms of what it is.

Speaker 25: And I feel also in terms of timing, right now, the world just feels funky, you know? It's weird. It is weird. And it feels dark and it feels heavy. And so to have a show that is also still looking at hierarchy and looking at bullying and looking at being true to yourself and accepting yourself for who you are and the importance of diversity and all of these things, that it's also a show that really is a celebration. We get to go and laugh and play and be silly and have fun. And I think those things are important right now. That's beautiful.

Speaker 26: All right. So the last question I ask everyone on my normal long-form episodes is, if you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, present company excluded, because of course you should see Romeo and Rochelle. But what show would you see for the rest of your life if you could only see one show? A musical? Any show. That's what makes it hard. I'll tell you what I first thought of. My Fair Lady. That's a good one. Because I think the book and the music is perfect. And it really tells a story. And yes, I said My Fair Lady. And I stick by it.

Speaker 27: Mine would probably be Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I love those songs. They're so good. They're so good. I love that. I love My Fair Lady too. It's very solid. Classic. Yeah. That's very good. All right. Well, thank you both. Congratulations. Thank you. And happy opening in mid-October. Everybody, go see this musical. It's great. Thank you. Yay!

Speaker 28: So my name is Stephen Sussi, and I am co-lead producer on Romeo and Rochelle the Musical. What made you want to do this? Because it's such a great question. You have many options. You have all... Sure. Yes. You know what? I wanted to join this particular producing team really because of Romeo and Rochelle and the project itself. I tend to be drawn to specific projects, and so Romeo and Rochelle the film was just one of my favorite films, and I really felt that it would be perfect in musical form, you know, theatrical form. And so I met up with my co-producer, Barry Kemp, who's one of the original producers on the film, and we started this journey, and we had our world premiere at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle, and we've been developing it, and now we open at Stage 42 next month.

Speaker 29: That's crazy. So did you go to Barry and say, I want to do this, or did you just happen to know each other and be like, one drunken high night? One drunken high night. Shrooms. No. So I was producing theater at Celebration Theater in Los Angeles, one of the oldest running, or the oldest running LGBTQ theater in the country, and so I was producing big musicals in a small black box theater, like 55 seats, so like for Silicon Queen of the Desert or whatever. And so I met Barry through my friend Kristen Henge, who is our director. She and I went to USC together many years ago, and I met Barry, and, you know, we just clicked. He's more of a creative producer, and I'm more of kind of like on the business side. And so we knew our roles, and he loved my passion for the project, and we just hit it off, and we started with Seattle, and we've been rolling. So yeah.

Speaker 30: So have you been involved for the whole 10 years of the development of the script and everything? Yeah. So I've been around for nine years. Wow. Yeah, musicals take a long time. Yes, they do. And you know what? And I've got to say, we really turned a corner when we decided our obligation as producers was to open this either on Broadway or West End. And last year, we jumped through all the hoops in order to make our obligation as producers to be off-Broadway, because we knew, we had a feeling that off-Broadway was the right match for this particular show, the amount of money to be raised, all of the many, many, many factors. And so as soon as we did that, we were offered Stage 42 by the Shubert Organization, so it really worked out well for us.

Speaker 31: That's really neat. That's really neat. What do you hope people are going to walk away from after seeing this? Because I feel like there's two different generations of people that are going to see this. There's our generation that saw the original movie, loved the original movie. Grew up with it, yeah. And graduated high school in 1987, me, which is like, you know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And we are different, right? We are different. And the kids, like, I say kids, 15, 20, 20, even 25 is still a kid to me. Sure. What people are going to walk away with, I mean, it's the story itself. We're the same story. I mean, you know, the film was the film. We are on stage. We are an original musical with about 21 original songs. But it's really the message of the story is the same. So what somebody took away from the film, they're going to take away the same thing via the musical. But I think even stronger. I think the emotional response is going to be stronger because of song, because of music, because of how people express themselves in song. And I just think it's a different feel. And I think it's a more impactful emotional response to the musical. And our last song in the show is called Changing the World One Outfit at a Time. And it is just, it's our anthem of the show. And I mean, if you're not happy at the end of our show, we've got, I mean, there's a problem, right? Because we really are bringing joy with Romy and Michelle, the musical.

Speaker 32: So the final question, if you can only see one show for the rest of your life, you can see it as many times as you want. What would you see? OK, wait, like one show. I'm only allowed to see one show for the rest of my life. Stuck on a desert island with one bootleg of one show. One. Oh, man, that's not easy. No. Well, can I say one thing before that? Yeah. I just saw Saturday Church yesterday and I adored it. I loved it. Loved it. But there's so many shows that I would want to see. But I would say, I would say an excellent production of Cabaret.

Speaker 33: Did you? That was what they just said. Oh, did they? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, Cabaret, again, and interesting in terms of Romy and Michelle situation, you know, I mean, Cabaret, that's one of my favorite films with Lesley, right? And then, but then I've seen Cabaret so many times. And if it's a, if it's, if it's an outstanding production, it just resonates and it's so important. And I'd also say in the world we're living in right now, Cabaret does feel like it's like very relevant right now. So I'm going to go with Cabaret.

Speaker 34: All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. Happy opening. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Don't go anywhere. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

Speaker 35: All right, everyone. Now we're back. Hi, y'all. Hi. Well, we look so cute. Look at that little camera. Oh, my gosh. You're always up on the tech. We look so cute. All right. So for those who are just listening, who are you listening? Say your names. Is it? Who's you? We're so tired. We're so tired. As my son called me from his crib after he called mommy many times and I did not answer when he was like to La Valbondy. La Valbondy. La Valbondy. No way. My name is La Valbondy. Oh. That's hilarious. I'm Laura Valbondy. Isn't that funny? So I had gone away. I was filming something and my husband had told him who everybody's name was in the house and had told him. So when I heard La Valbondy from the crib in the morning because he would just say announced that he was awake yelling mommy and daddy. And he started yelling La Valbondy. He said mommy twice and then Laura Valbondy. And I died because I was not expecting La Valbondy. La Valbondy. That's what I'm going to call her now. La Valbondy.

Speaker 36: Yeah. Luckily my child doesn't call me Carolyn. We haven't started talking about the show at all yet. Okay, okay, let's do it. I know they're going to get in trouble. I know, I know. They're going to get in trouble. So that's who you are. We've established all. La Valbondy. La Valbondy. When did you guys get involved with this production? How long have you been involved? Like two weeks ago. Truly, honestly. It was very fast. You know, I did not know that when I started my summer at the end of my summer I would be doing this show. I have known Kristen Hange for 20 years. She had told me that she was doing Romy and Michelle and I thought to myself of all the things that Kristen and I have done together I cannot believe she did not ask me. And then she actually asked Shea do you think Laura Bell would consider Romy and Michelle?

Speaker 37: Is Shea your official manager now? I guess so. Shea was like ask her because I had said to Shea this thing. So when Kristen was like would you ever consider doing Romy and Michelle I was like bitch I can't believe it took you this long to ask me. That's hilarious. So that was middle of July and this is actually the first musical that I have ever I guess you know there have been other Romy and Michelle's incarnations of this like in Seattle. So I guess we are technically originating for New York. Yes. But this would be the first time that I have technically originated something I never did a reading or a workshop of before. So it's all kind of new. You offer only now.

Speaker 38: Yeah. No it's just it's just a lot of times well a lot of times you work on something for a while. So you go into rehearsals and you have you kind of know the songs you know the lines so it's all new so it's but it's been exciting. It's like I've thrown myself into the deep end and we both are and I have this amazing like safety vest friend in Carolyn's seat.

Speaker 39: With Karenzie! Karenzie! It's a delight. Yeah. I also did not realize I was doing this but I'm also really grateful that I am. Yes. Me too. So wonderful. It feels like it's coming at the right time. It's just kind of exploded in like the news cycles and all of a sudden it's just I think it may have come about I don't know the full story but I'm assuming that it sort of came about a little last minute. No?

Speaker 40: Yeah. In general? But it's like I love that life is like that. That's how theater is though. Theater is like oh there's a theater available oh yay let's do this. Yeah. So it's just like literally anything can happen. Your life can change on a dime. In an instant. You know you could just just get ready for great things to happen.

Speaker 41: I know it's exciting. And we read together. We did like a chemistry read. We had a chemistry read. I was home in Rochester visiting my family I was in Salzburg Austria. Exactly. You're being serious. She's being serious. It was so fast. Her life is a comedy. I don't know. It like had to happen then. So I'm like at this lake in Austria. Because it was happening so last minute.

Speaker 42: Yeah. And we did this chemistry read over Zoom and it was lovely. It was so fun. And we were like texting each other after. Yeah. Don't they say that's skeptical. Yeah. And we were like texting each other after. Yeah. And we were like texting each other after. Yeah. I see. This chemistry is amazing. And it was.

Speaker 43: Yeah. I am Romy. Yeah. Yeah. Why do you have this accent? You've only been there for two days. And you don't like my accent. My Romy accent. Okay. So then you obviously you must have seen the movie when you when you was youngest.

Speaker 44: Yeah. Like how much did did that Okay. Let me ask this better more better. Do better. Do better. Okay. One more time with talent and scene. Okay. So when you watch the movie as a kid it stuck with you. Now all of a sudden getting thrown into the last minute. Is this did it help you to be unable to have this much time to prepare and so you're just like approaching this like a fresh role or are you trying to emulate what you remember of these characters from the movie?

Speaker 45: I think we've been preparing our whole lives for this. You know we are 80s babies. Yeah. There are some they flashback to their 80s prom. We grew up watching this movie not grew up but like in high school. Yeah. This was like a high school definitely came out when we were in high school. I feel like it's been we've like absorbed this show through osmosis our whole lives.

Speaker 46: Yeah. Like what would having a few more months of preparation really do? Yeah. Like every like little bit of like sort of nostalgic choreography we have it down already. We've been doing it on the dance floor since junior high and you know so that part's easy.

Speaker 47: Yeah. I mean it's funny. I always love more time. I'm one of those people like I'm a rehearsal whore. I love it. I just love rehearsal but at some point you have to you have to kind of let go and you like the next element of rehearsal is having an audience so we have one more week in the studio and then we have tech and I really think that'll be plenty.

Speaker 48: No we really do need hope. Comedy you need that we need that response. It was really awesome to revisit the movie again but revisited as someone who like I didn't do comedy the way that I do comedy now when I was in high school so now I watch it with like a more critical eye and go this is actually legitimately funny and still holds up and I really hope to do this justice and I think there you know when you're creating the character you know you obviously there's iconic bits and there's little iconic things like you know sort of like this voice a little bit and I'm like do I incorporate that do I not incorporate that and the answer is yes you incorporate it because people are expecting it but it also allows you to differentiate between these two characters differentiate I'm now like going home talking like that and then you go home and you talk like this I don't know but anyway but then you make it your own like we've been saying like you put it through your own like heart filter and then it comes out as our versions of these characters.

Speaker 49: Well I'm getting the wrap up sign oh no I know I gotta go I gotta go you gotta actually you gotta go you have to go eat something get some lunch so then congratulations on this show it's gonna open so soon and everyone's gonna come and swarm you and give you lots of Romy and Michelle hugs and say goodbye in character give me one more goodbye in character okay bye I mean that's what she did okay bye okay bye by Austrian no that's not Austrian that's Hungarian I don't know I don't know I don't know thank you bye okay bye bye bye