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[0:00] Joel Crump: Hey you guys, today I'm here with Gabrielle Nevaeh. We are here for another episode of Broadway Time at Carmine's.

[0:10] Gabrielle Nevaeh: How are you today? I'm great! Thanks for having me.

[0:12] Joel Crump: Thank you for being here. Right now you are currently starring in the most awarded show this season, the most awarded play this season, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. What has it been like making your Broadway debut in Stranger Things?

[0:24] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I mean, it's crazy. I had the opportunity to attend the Tonys, so I was sitting there watching our team win. And it was surreal to be like, oh my gosh, I know you guys! But it's been a dream come true to be a part of the world that I grew up watching. I was a huge Stranger Things fan. I was at every fan experience. I went to like an early screening of season three where David Harbour spoke. So like I was deep in the fandom. So to be a part of Stranger Things and the universe, it's truly a dream come true.

[0:48] Joel Crump: Absolutely. Now what is it like doing theater? Because it's very different from like your television work that you've done before.

[0:53] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. What is it like being on stage?

[0:55] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It's night and day different. I like to say that acting is acting. So the fundamentals are still there. But it's much more taxing. You know, we're running around, we're fighting each other, we're screaming. And, you know, we do that eight times a week. So learning how to take care of your body, take care of your mind, all that good stuff has been a process. But, you know, I'm grateful for it. It's definitely taught me things that TV and film could not. I think that both mediums work hand in hand. You learn something different from both. But Broadway has definitely kicked my booty and taught me some really valuable lessons as an artist.

[1:27] Joel Crump: While in rehearsals, what was like the most challenging or eye-opening thing for you? Because like you said, it's like two very different things.

[1:33] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. And from going from all your different experiences, it had to be challenging, I could imagine. Learning how to walk on our turntable was crazy. So we have a moving floor.

[1:42] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. We have the standard like stage part that doesn't move. And then we have kind of like an onion. The rings of an onion. And each ring moves a different direction. So learning how to walk on that and making it look seamless was definitely mind-breaking. I felt like the first time I stepped on the revolve because I was like, whoa, what is this thing? It's like walking on a treadmill. But, you know, I'm an old pro now.

[2:06] Joel Crump: Yeah, totally, totally.

[2:12] Gabrielle Nevaeh: What I think is so special about this show, and it's unlike anything else I've seen on Broadway before, is that like the special effects. They are unlike anything I've seen before. They won a special Tony Award. What was it like for you learning these special effects and being a part of the magic of Stranger Things?

[2:27] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It was crazy because for a long time we were in the rehearsal room with nothing. So we literally had like wooden lockers. We had like all the fake props. And just we had to use our imagination because none of the special effects were there. We were just like in a rehearsal room with the turntable and just like we had to play make-believe. So when we transitioned to the theater, it was kind of a shell-shock moment of like, oh my gosh, we have all of these pyrotechnics and lighting effects and all of the crazy ambitious things that you see on stage when you come see the show. We had to learn, I had to learn, how to create a symbiotic relationship with the tech. That way it didn't feel like you were watching two separate plays.

Especially specifically for Patti Newby, who is, I like to say, the regular girl among all of the supernatural effects. It was difficult for a long time to kind of figure out that balance of, okay, how do I live and breathe with all of these supernatural things? And it's a great challenge. It was a great opportunity to stretch myself as an actor. And I think that we landed in a really great spot with telling that humanity story alongside the supernatural element.

[3:34] Joel Crump: Yeah, and I feel like the physicality of the show is what really struck me. Like you and Louis and all the things you guys are doing, it's so insane. How was it like, you know, getting used to that physicality and doing all those different things on stage?

[3:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It was tough. It was really tough learning how to take care of my body and marry that with how do you keep the same intensity eight times a week for the extension of a year. It was insane to kind of become a self-care girly because I wasn't really into the skincare and going to the gym and things like that, but I had to. It was vital. Now I nebulize my throat. I see my throat. I get vocal massages, you know, all of the things that I didn't even know really existed. Now they're like my day to day. So that was an extreme challenge of like keeping up the physicality, keeping up my body and also taking care of myself. That's something that I had to learn because I'm incredibly driven and ambitious.

And I think that I'm a superhero. But I learned very quickly in this production that I'm not. And I'm very, very much human. So giving myself grace was also a challenge of, hey, tonight you might have to be a little slower and that's OK. Just as long as you're telling the story and Patty is still getting her full arc and her full journey, you know, you're doing your job.

[4:51] Joel Crump: And what was it like for you, like finding that journey for Patty?

[4:53] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It was terrifying for me to like walk into Stranger Things: The First Shadow as a new character, because I'm a huge Stranger Things fan. And I remember watching like season two and season three when Max and Robin were introduced, I was like, OK, prove it, kid. You're like, you're the new kid. Like, what are you going to do? You know, because you grow up with these characters and you absolutely fall in love. And then when a new entity comes in, it's like, oh, what is this new spice added to the mix? So I was worried because I knew that I had those feelings and I knew that others would have those feelings possibly about Patty Newby. So I put a lot of undue pressure on myself on top of that, because I've never been in a situation where someone else has played the role.

It's very similar to like doing something like Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. There have been so many different iterations. And similarly, there have been so many different versions of Patty Newby. I, in my brain, have never been in that situation. So I thought there was a right way to play Patty and a wrong way to play Patty, which the creative team, Stephen Daldry, Justin Martin and Kate Tree Fry really were so open to my interpretation. And I had a conversation with Kate Tree Fry about, you know, the why did you cast me conversation, basically. Not so clear cut, but that was the sentiment. And she was saying that part of the reason that I got this job was because I was so different. They had never seen Patty in this way in the light that I'm playing her on stage currently.

And I think that there's something magical about learning that I can trust myself as an artist and through that pattern of the rehearsal process and through tech and then now the performances on stage, it was just slow but steady finding my voice through Patty and finding her character arc with Henry.

[6:40] Joel Crump: So cool.

[6:47] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, we saw the show again. I saw it a few days before opening. But during that time, we were seeing stuff like every night. And so when I found out we were going to do this interview, I was like, OK, I have to go back. I was mind blown. It was my favorite show of the year by far.

[7:02] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, my gosh. You're so sweet. It's just so cool what you guys are doing on the stage. And the story's really great. But when you add the special effects on top of that, it's insane.

[7:10] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, that's very kind. I mean, it's hard for me because it's my Broadway debut, so I don't know anything different. And people are telling me, like, it's not normal. This is not normal, what you're doing. It's not normal. Every other show on the block, it's not even close to what you guys are doing.

[7:25] Joel Crump: Yeah. It's pretty cool how almost all of you are making, or a big majority of you are making your Broadway debuts.

[7:30] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, like 20 of us. It's all your first experience on Broadway. You're doing it at the top level, you know?

[7:35] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I think it's great because I kind of started with, in my mind, one of the hardest shows. So now it's like, OK, I can breathe after this because I kind of did the hardest one in my brain.

[7:46] Joel Crump: Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's dig in.

[7:48] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, let's do it.

[7:52] Joel Crump: Carmine's is such a comfort place. When I was younger, we would come back and forth to New York very often, and Carmine's would be the place that we would come.

[8:00] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Really?

[8:01] Joel Crump: Yeah. Yep, yep, yep. I mean, it's perfect. It's right here in the middle of the theater district, so I don't know where else you would go, you know what I mean? It's perfect. It's like right across the street from the Marquee Theater, so it's like right here.

[8:11] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[8:15] Joel Crump: So I know you were a fan of the show. What was it like for you when you got this audition, went into rehearsals, and truly immersed yourself into Stranger Things?

[8:22] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, so I'll take you all the way back. I got the audition in my email, and it said Stranger Things on Broadway. I was like, ah, that's great. I'm never going to get this.

[8:31] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Right. Because growing up, I was such a shy kid. I never thought that I would have the courage to be on Broadway. It was just like going to the moon or like being in a submarine. It's like something that's never going to happen. So I never thought to even look in the direction of Broadway. It was just like, ah, don't even touch it. It's not for you, kid. But then I got this audition, and I was like, well, TV and film is really slow right now. Why don't I just like put the audition out there? Maybe the Duffer Brothers will see it. Netflix will see it and consider me for something else. Definitely not whatever this Broadway production is.

[9:03] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. But, yeah, you know, just throw it out in the universe. So I did it, and I treated it just like a film and TV audition because I didn't know any better. I'm like, it's Stranger Things. Let's just pretend like we're auditioning for Stranger Things. So that's what I did. Sent in the audition. Two weeks later, they called me back in L.A., and I was like, oh, this is weird. So went in. They had me do a bunch of mix and match sessions with boys that they were auditioning for Henry, and it was like day after day. I had like basically a call time of 10 a.m. to come in and read with different boys, and the way that they structured the audition, which I was so grateful for, I was the only Patty there at that time, so it was like one Patty, one Henry, one Bob, one Joyce, and we all like had a session, which was just kind of relieving in a sense of like it can be tough to sit there and like look around and see like all the girls that kind of look like you and, you know, they're all holding the same sides that you are. It can be really scary. So that kind of alleviated some stress, and that was a unique aspect to the process that I had never witnessed before.

[10:06] Gabrielle Nevaeh: So day after day, I went back in Los Angeles, and then it was just quiet for like a month. Didn't hear anything. So I was like, well, okay, I did my best, and I did what I had intended to do. I made a great impression and made some friends, and that was that. And then eventually, about a month later, I got a call to come to New York for a callback, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is feeling really real. Hold on, guys. This is just joking. But no, at this point, I was totally like head over heels in love with Patty, and I needed deep down in my soul to get this job because something about it, I just worked so hard at proving it to myself that I was worthy enough to possibly book a Broadway audition. I felt that, you know, if I didn't get the job, I would have been fulfilled. But if I did get the job, that would have been like the ultimate love letter to my childhood self.

[11:00] Gabrielle Nevaeh: So flew to New York, and I had to sing, which I was like, all right, I'm not a musical theater girly. I don't have a musical theater songbook for auditions. So I went back to 11-year-old me, that shy kid that...

[11:46] ♪ Musical number: "I've Got Rhythm" — performed by Gabrielle Nevaeh ♪

[12:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: So, I just want to say that being a part of "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" has been such an incredible experience for me. The energy in the theater is just electric, and I feel so lucky to be part of this amazing cast.

[12:26] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I mean, growing up, I was such a huge fan of the show, and now to be able to step into this world and bring my character, Patty Newby, to life is just surreal.

[12:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: The story is so rich, and it really dives deep into the characters' backgrounds, which I think fans will appreciate. It's not just a retelling of the series; it's something new that adds to the lore.

[12:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: And the music! Oh my gosh, the music is fantastic. It really captures the essence of the '80s vibe that the show is known for, and I can't wait for everyone to hear it.

[13:06] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I also love how the show highlights themes of friendship and bravery, which are so important, especially for young audiences today.

[13:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It's been a journey for me, stepping into this role, and I feel like I've grown so much as an artist. The rehearsals have been intense but so rewarding.

[13:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I’ve had the chance to work with some incredible people, both on and off stage, and their support has been invaluable.

[13:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I think what makes this production special is how it brings together fans of the original series and new audiences alike. There's something for everyone.

[13:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: And I have to say, the camaraderie among the cast is just amazing. We all support each other, and it creates such a positive environment.

[14:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I can't wait for the audience to see the show and experience the magic of Broadway in a whole new way.

[14:26] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It's a dream come true for me, and I hope it inspires others to chase their dreams as well.

[14:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Being in this production has also opened up new opportunities for me, and I'm excited to see where this journey takes me next.

[14:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I really believe that theater has the power to change lives, and I hope our show resonates with people.

[15:06] Gabrielle Nevaeh: The response from the audience during previews has been incredible, and it just fuels our passion to give our best every night.

[15:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I feel so grateful to be part of this community, and I can't wait to see how the story unfolds on stage.

[15:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It's such a unique experience to be involved in a production that blends nostalgia with fresh storytelling.

[15:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I think everyone will find a piece of themselves in the characters, and that's what makes it so relatable.

[15:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I'm just really excited for the world to see what we've created together.

[16:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: And of course, I have to give a shoutout to the creative team behind the scenes. Their vision has brought this show to life in such a beautiful way.

[16:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I feel like every detail has been thought out, from the set design to the costumes, and it all comes together to create this immersive experience.

[16:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I hope audiences leave the theater feeling inspired and uplifted, just like I do every time I step on stage.

[17:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It's a privilege to share this story with everyone, and I can't wait for the official opening night.

[17:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Thank you so much for having me on the podcast, Joel. It's been a pleasure to share my journey with you.

[17:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I hope everyone tunes in to see "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" and enjoys it as much as we enjoy performing it.

[18:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: And remember, theater is for everyone, so come out and support live performances!

[18:36] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I can't wait to see you all at the theater!