Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Alyssa Carol of 'Back to the Future The Musical'

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Exclusive Interview: Alyssa Carol of 'Back to the Future The Musical' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Thank you so much for joining me today, Alyssa, to talk about the North American touring production of Back to the Future musical.
• 0:05
  How are you doing today?
• 0:06
  I'm doing so well!
• 0:07
  Thanks for having me!
• 0:09
  We are so excited for the show to arrive in Detroit here.
• 0:12
  uh This is, I mean, a big, show.
• 0:14
  It ran on Broadway for quite a bit of time.
• 0:17
  uh How has your time so far been on this production?
• 0:20
  It's been amazing.
• 0:22
  mean, the journey has been so rewarding.
• 0:25
  I've been with the show from the beginning of the rehearsal room at New 42 in New York City.
• 0:30
  And it's been about a year and some change.
• 0:34
  And I've got to visit my hometown.
• 0:37
  I understudy Lorraine.
• 0:39
  So I'm dancing in the ensemble for the most part.
• 0:41
  And then every once in a while, I get to do
• 0:44
  Lorraine, who is the mom in the show, and it's been such a treat.
• 0:48
  And the cast is amazing.
• 0:50
  The crew has been amazing.
• 0:51
  The creative team is absolutely stacked.
• 0:54
  So it's been a dream come true for sure.
• 0:57
  What is it like to go kind of home to your hometown and getting to bring a show that you've been working so hard on?
• 1:02
  It has to be exciting, I'm sure.
• 1:04
  It was so special.
• 1:06
  So the Seegerstrom is my hometown theater in Costa Mesa.
• 1:10
  And I went to the Orange County School of the Arts, which is a performing arts high school in SoCal.
• 1:16
  And we used to perform our like season finale performance at the Seegerstrom.
• 1:22
  So I actually have gotten to perform there as a high school student.
• 1:26
  And so getting to come back there at this point in my life, pursuing a dream that I had when I was that age, going back to that theater and having now pursued that.
• 1:35
  professionally, it was just so full circle and so magical.
• 1:38
  And my family was there and I got to have a few teachers in my life that have come and made a huge difference on my life come watch me do that.
• 1:48
  So it was really, really special.
• 1:50
  Yeah.
• 1:51
  It's like that full circle moment of being like, here I am again and this is, I made it.
• 1:56
  I'm doing the thing I wanna do.
• 1:58
  Yeah, it was very, very cool.
• 2:01
  So, Back to the Future the Musical uh is an adaptation of the first film from the Robert Zemeckis trilogy, correct?
• 2:09
  It's such an iconic movie.
• 2:10
  I I know I grew up watching this and I'm assuming most people have grown up watching this that stood the test of time.
• 2:15
  But how do you feel the stage adaptation kind of sets itself apart from the beloved film that came before?
• 2:21
  It's so fun.
• 2:21
  I mean, the obvious reason is we're now adding musical elements to their songs and there's choreography.
• 2:28
  um I'm dancing basically the whole show.
• 2:32
  And it's so fun.
• 2:33
  have 14 costume changes.
• 2:35
  I mean, it is like fast paced.
• 2:36
  You're in it.
• 2:37
  um And I've had a lot of people tell me it feels like you're on a ride, kind of.
• 2:43
  uh And the reason why is because you have all the technical elements of the movie.
• 2:49
  and you're also immersed in it.
• 2:51
  So it's like you are part of the ambiance.
• 2:53
  You you're not just watching something.
• 2:55
  You are like part of it.
• 2:56
  It's one of those shows that I mean, from my perspective, watching the audience watch it is like you're on the edge of your seat the whole time.
• 3:03
  It's so exciting.
• 3:04
  um Again, the scenic design is absolutely unbelievable.
• 3:10
  And there are, you know, all the plot points are basically the same, but there are a few little sprinkled in surprises that
• 3:17
  that differ from the movie so it keeps it fresh and new and also all of the characters are the beloved characters and we do our best to emulate them and pay homage to them but it's
• 3:27
  also we're putting our own flair because we're different people and so all the principals are putting their own personalities into it as well so you're not getting the picture
• 3:38
  perfect replica of the movie either so yeah it's cool.
• 3:42
  You know, when you talked about like kind of the magic of it or like all of the elements that are in there, having, I go to New York once, about once a year, and there was always
• 3:52
  not only the energy coming from the people leaving back to the future, but even just to see like, you could see the car, you know, and stuff like the flying car.
• 4:00
  Like there's these bits that you're just like, how do they pull it off in the stage production?
• 4:03
  And you guys have managed to capture all of that.
• 4:05
  I still, I watched every night and I still have no idea how they're pulling this off.
• 4:10
  It's absolutely insane.
• 4:12
  It's pretty mind-boggling.
• 4:16
  And speaking of the scene design, you get the iconic clock tower and stuff.
• 4:20
  It all comes to life right there on stage.
• 4:23
  Yep, all of it.
• 4:24
  Yeah.
• 4:24
  There's the school scene, you know, there's the lunch room, there's, um, you know, the parking lot scene, all of that stuff.
• 4:30
  You're getting it all.
• 4:31
  The McFly home, all of it.
• 4:33
  Is there pressure to kind of entering into a world that people know so well?
• 4:37
  I mean, this film has been around for decades now and to kind of to step into that world.
• 4:42
  Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't necessarily call it pressure, but I think just like a celebration of how much this movie has impacted so many people.
• 4:49
  mean, the amount of times that we get people coming in full costume and full like outfits and like people just love this film and to be a part of that magic for them is just so
• 5:02
  special.
• 5:03
  So I think the pressure comes from just wanting to honor that.
• 5:06
  And we had a lot of the original creative team.
• 5:09
  know, with us creating our show with us side by side.
• 5:13
  mean, Bob Gale, who created the whole thing.
• 5:15
  We had Glenn Ballard, wrote the music.
• 5:17
  Alan Sylvester wrote the music.
• 5:19
  You know, we have all these people who are, have been like pillars of the original storyline with us in real time.
• 5:30
  And, you know, hearing their perspective has been so inspiring to help kind of fuel the show and propel the show.
• 5:37
  And uh honestly,
• 5:39
  the audience reception really makes it that much more special.
• 5:45
  yeah, it's been very cool to pay homage to the film, but to also put ourselves into it.
• 5:53
  And we've all had, you know, our experiences with the movie and my dad freaking loves it and I grew up watching it.
• 6:00
  And so it's just like to be a part of an extension of that and bring it back to people.
• 6:05
  who watched the movie originally are now having a new experience with it.
• 6:08
  And we even have like parents that grew up with the movie who are now bringing their kids who are all dressed up and they love it too.
• 6:15
  So it really like it spans generations, which is really special.
• 6:19
  Yeah.
• 6:20
  And family, it's interesting because I remember my sister, who's like eight years older than me, when I was like eight or 10, she shared this with me.
• 6:29
  And now I'm passing it on to my nephews and my family members.
• 6:32
  And it truly is.
• 6:32
  Everybody is so excited because you get to see something that you're so familiar with, but in such a different way that you're not expecting.
• 6:40
  There's not many shows that make it to go be a stage production such as this.
• 6:44
  Right, yeah.
• 6:46
  I know, my nephew came in Costa Mesa and he now is watching the film and I got him a little vest and he came dressed up.
• 6:53
  It's so fun.
• 6:56
  So you're playing one of the roles you're playing is Babs in the shell, correct?
• 7:01
  So who is Babs to you or like how do they fit into the narrative?
• 7:05
  So Babs is one of my many characters.
• 7:08
  She is one of Lorraine's best friends.
• 7:10
  um And so my favorite part about playing Babs, she's very sassy, um very fun, but a lot of the times when Lorraine and Biff have little like head on moments, she always has
• 7:24
  something to say about it.
• 7:26
  So she's got some fun little like digs at Biff, which is always super fun.
• 7:31
  um And then other than that, you know, like I'm
• 7:35
  dancing around the DeLorean.
• 7:37
  I'm a 80s jogger in the beginning.
• 7:40
  I'm a backup singer for Marty's band in the end.
• 7:43
  um You know, I'm like a space bot at some point.
• 7:49
  Like there are so many surprises um throughout the show.
• 7:53
  So yeah.
• 7:55
  With being a part of the ensemble, said you're dancing a lot, you're lots of costume changes.
• 7:59
  How do you keep that energy up?
• 8:00
  Like that sounds like you are running for basically two hours and 30, two hours and 45 minutes.
• 8:05
  Yeah, girl, and it's been a year and some change and it has not slowed down.
• 8:10
  It never gets easier, but it is just the community.
• 8:14
  mean, the audience reception for one and then also the ensemble of the show, we hold each other up, you know, and it's not easy.
• 8:22
  It's incredibly physically demanding um on the dance end.
• 8:26
  And I guess that's what keeps me going.
• 8:29
  It's like, once you're on, you're not getting off.
• 8:32
  So...
• 8:32
  Sure.
• 8:33
  everything like act one.
• 8:34
  I mean, I always talk about this.
• 8:36
  It's the you're getting one show on stage and then you're getting a completely different show backstage that you're not even able to see from the audience, obviously.
• 8:45
  And it is really is different every night.
• 8:49
  it's also every city is different.
• 8:51
  Every theater is different.
• 8:52
  I mean, we just played the Fox in Atlanta and it was just like there's so much history there.
• 8:58
  So it's just getting to go to these places where you know these
• 9:03
  icons have performed and so many people have touched this space is just in and of itself inspiring and I mean I think going back to Detroit, know, going to college there will be
• 9:16
  incredibly special and yeah it really is the, your peers, your peers lift you up and the show is so high energy and fun that it's hard not to keep the energy up for sure so.
• 9:29
  I have to say, granted, there's been a lot of, like, on social media when this was in Broadway, there was a lot of videos.
• 9:34
  like, to the end of the curtain drawing, you guys are like, dancing, like the energy is to the moment the curtain is dropping.
• 9:41
  Yeah, yeah, I will say I mean like and the iconic numbers Johnny B Good, Power of Love, like all of those fan favorite songs that are from the movie that are in our show are so
• 9:53
  fun and so well choreographed.
• 9:55
  Chris Baylor, our choreographer, has done an incredible job building the story in the world.
• 10:00
  So yeah, that keeps it up for sure.
• 10:03
  with all of the other roles that you're playing too, but you're also, like you mentioned, the understudy for Lorraine.
• 10:07
  How do you prepare kind of for that?
• 10:09
  Like, how do you balance all those different roles in your head and make sure that it all goes according to plan?
• 10:15
  Yeah, Lorraine is so fun.
• 10:18
  um She is so fascinating.
• 10:22
  She's got this like edge to her, but she and she knows herself so well, but she's still a teenager.
• 10:27
  So she's still trying to figure herself out and she's playful.
• 10:31
  She's feisty.
• 10:33
  Her songs are so fun to sing.
• 10:35
  um As far as preparing for it, I mean, the audition was pretty, pretty intense.
• 10:40
  I mean, they had to, you know, dance us all.
• 10:43
  There's a lot of partnering in the show, so that was an important element.
• 10:46
  And then also, emulating these characters is another aspect of it.
• 10:50
  You can't just go in there and sing your song and sing it well.
• 10:53
  You have to honor the original work.
• 10:57
  so, Leah Thompson is a huge inspiration for me.
• 11:00
  um Her work in the movie fueled a lot of my character work for Lorraine.
• 11:07
  And...
• 11:07
  um
• 11:08
  It's truly iconic what she does in that film.
• 11:10
  So I can only imagine.
• 11:11
  You're like, I want to make sure I do this justice.
• 11:13
  Yeah, it's really special and it's just written so well, know, like these iconic lines are just so...
• 11:22
  oh
• 11:23
  I mean, it's just like the structure of it is built so beautifully.
• 11:27
  So, you know, the lines are there.
• 11:28
  So it's not hard for me to find it.
• 11:31
  The words are there.
• 11:32
  And so I just, you know, I don't have much pre-show, just a lot of like, you know, grounding exercises and breathing exercises, trusting myself, trusting the material,
• 11:43
  trusting that, you know, my scene partners have me out there and everyone is so fun to play with.
• 11:48
  Lucas who plays Marty, Mike who plays George, they're just so fun to be on stage with and they're so present.
• 11:55
  It just feels like a dream.
• 11:59
  It doesn't feel like it comes hard, if that makes sense.
• 12:03
  It's all there.
• 12:05
  I mean, it's kind of like that saying, like, if you love what you do, you don't work a day in your life in a way.
• 12:10
  Exactly.
• 12:10
  Yeah, and that's what it feels like to come to work every day for sure.
• 12:14
  You know you mentioned about mindfulness techniques and grounding and as a psychologist I'm always wondering how do you prioritize your mental health where you're tour because
• 12:21
  you're Constantly moving from city to city or you know you're putting on multiple shows a day sometimes for weeks on end How do you prioritize that?
• 12:30
  Yeah, I talk a lot about this.
• 12:32
  think the schedule in and of itself is very tricky.
• 12:36
  It's a really demanding schedule.
• 12:38
  We do eight shows a week.
• 12:40
  And that's not even including allotted rehearsal time.
• 12:43
  You the ensemble's rehearsing a lot.
• 12:44
  We have a lot of new people, you know, coming in and out every once in a while.
• 12:49
  And it gets to be a lot.
• 12:51
  And I think as performers, we don't necessarily take the time for ourselves to rest.
• 12:57
  know, if I can't do the show that night,
• 12:59
  I can't always just push through and get through another one.
• 13:02
  Like I have to be honest with myself and say, do I need to take today off?
• 13:06
  Do I need to take a break?
• 13:07
  um And you know, that's not always celebrated or encouraged in our industry.
• 13:13
  um But I think post COVID there's been a kind of a reckoning with that, which I've really appreciated.
• 13:20
  know, shout out to my therapist.
• 13:22
  I love her.
• 13:23
  She's always been like.
• 13:25
  That's my girl.
• 13:26
  um And so I think that's super important just to have an accountability partner, you know, to talk everything out.
• 13:32
  And it's a very vulnerable thing what we do.
• 13:34
  We get up on stage every day and we share our hearts and souls and like, for thousands of people every day.
• 13:41
  And that's a true gift, but it also, takes a lot out of you and that's a lot of energy.
• 13:47
  so doing things outside of work that also bring me joy.
• 13:52
  um
• 13:53
  We have a pickleball club.
• 13:55
  We've got rock climbing club, you know, and like leaning on my peers too, cause we're all going through the same thing and we all have the same, you know, struggles, but in
• 14:05
  different ways.
• 14:05
  And I re I feel incredibly lucky to have the group that we have here cast and crew.
• 14:11
  mean, we really are a special, special family and we lean on each other for everything.
• 14:17
  So that's been really special.
• 14:19
  Um, I
• 14:20
  practice a lot of yoga and meditation and so that's been kind of a pillar for me and my growth here on tour.
• 14:27
  But yeah, traveling and not having a home is so, you don't, it was one of those things that shocked me the most, because I was like, yay, travel, perfect, awesome.
• 14:38
  And then also, you're moving cities every week and you're living out of your suitcase and there's not much to ground yourself with, so I kind of have to be my own personal home in
• 14:49
  myself.
• 14:50
  and the only constant that we have here are the people.
• 14:53
  So that's been a huge, huge stepping stone for sure.
• 14:59
  And you know, think that while I'm sure people are very aware of it, I don't think they understand necessarily all the time that like, like you said, like it's not just eight
• 15:06
  shows a week, which is already a lot, but it is rehearsals.
• 15:08
  It is like right now you're taking time out of your day to talk with me and that all of that adds up to you're working way more than 40 hours and you're traveling from place to
• 15:19
  place.
• 15:19
  And like you said, there's not really a home in each place.
• 15:22
  And I like that you said that you are your home.
• 15:24
  That's that's a great answer.
• 15:25
  uh
• 15:28
  With this, you said there's some iconic songs in here.
• 15:31
  You said that there are some new songs.
• 15:33
  What songs really speak to you as you're performing every night?
• 15:37
  Or what are your favorites to perform?
• 15:39
  that's such a great question.
• 15:41
  I'll do one for the ensemble and I'll do one for Lorraine.
• 15:43
  uh In the ensemble, Johnny B.
• 15:46
  Goode is my favorite.
• 15:48
  It is my favorite.
• 15:49
  It is classic swing dancing partnering, which I hadn't had much experience with prior to coming into this rehearsal process.
• 15:58
  So that was like a new skill for me to learn.
• 16:01
  I mean, I've partner danced my whole life as a dancer, but swing dancing is its own.
• 16:06
  thing and we had, uh you know, weeks of rehearsals perfecting this style and it's intense, like we're getting thrown around and tossed around, it's so fun and it's, partner dancing
• 16:20
  is one of my favorite uh things to do because you're just like, you're with your partner and you put all of your trust in this one person and to me, like, that is so special, that
• 16:30
  connection and dancing as one unit, as two people.
• 16:35
  um is one of my favorite things to do.
• 16:38
  So that's always so fun.
• 16:40
  And as soon as the music starts, the audience just goes crazy because they know what's coming.
• 16:46
  So.
• 16:47
  imagine because that's such a high octane part of the film, you know?
• 16:50
  And so getting to like live that but also having audiences interact with that, that's like that's the kind of energy exchange you want.
• 16:57
  it's awesome, and the guitar solo at the end is epic.
• 17:00
  So, there's that.
• 17:02
  And then, for me as Lorraine...
• 17:04
  I mean, Pretty Baby is so fun.
• 17:06
  m It's the song that she sings when we first find Marty in her bedroom in the purple underwear, all this stuff, and she's having all of these realizations.
• 17:18
  ah It's a bit of a dream sequence in a way, and it's really, really fun.
• 17:25
  Lucas, who plays Marty, is always so fun to play with in that scene.
• 17:29
  So that's definitely top tier for me.
• 17:33
  What is it, like how would you kind of describe that song?
• 17:36
  Is it like classic, like Broadway?
• 17:38
  Is it kind of, you know, is it kind of poppy rocky?
• 17:41
  Like what is it?
• 17:42
  Yeah, I think it's a perfect balance between that Broadway sound but also that like 50s doo-wop kind of flair.
• 17:54
  it's kind of both and it's got a little poppy sound to it.
• 18:00
  But it's really fun.
• 18:01
  It's comedy.
• 18:02
  There's a lot of like really fun staging.
• 18:06
  There's a lot to take in in that one.
• 18:09
  It's really, really fun.
• 18:10
  Yeah.
• 18:12
  So with their being, you know, being back to the future, what themes from this musical resonate the most with you right now where you are at in your life?
• 18:19
  Oh, so much.
• 18:21
  So much, I think.
• 18:24
  Relationships, the people that we meet in our lives, and know, Marty goes back in time to 1955, obviously.
• 18:29
  But even the relationships that he makes with his family members forever change them in the future, you know?
• 18:37
  And I think for me, I'm at a point in my life where I have this family of people around me who have impacted my life forever.
• 18:46
  I have people in my life now that...
• 18:49
  have changed me eternally and people here who have been so special to me over the last year, year and a half.
• 18:58
  And that's a huge theme for me.
• 19:02
  I think just like love, know, it's a classic love story and um the journey of two people finding each other that are truly meant to be with each other, that always gives me chills
• 19:16
  every night.
• 19:16
  um
• 19:18
  Yeah, and just community.
• 19:20
  What I love about the show is that it's, you know, we're following the main, you know, principles of the story, but also we're following the ensemble.
• 19:29
  Like the entire ensemble is part of every single scene.
• 19:34
  And to have an ensemble this strong, who have like built all of their, you know, storylines so intertwined with each other, that makes...
• 19:46
  everything stronger.
• 19:47
  mean, you're not just following the forefront, you're following everybody else surrounding it.
• 19:53
  And we built this world that's really, really exciting.
• 19:56
  And I also think another theme is being a part of a franchise that's impacted millions of people.
• 20:02
  I mean, now that I've been on tour for a year and almost a half, like, I've interacted with millions of people now who all have come together and enjoy the show for two and a
• 20:15
  half hours and
• 20:16
  That in and of itself is a theme, you know, so...
• 20:20
  Yeah.
• 20:23
  Yeah.
• 20:24
  theater really does bring people together, and this is one of those ways that it segues with such a big piece of pop culture from the past couple decades.
• 20:33
  Yeah, it's very, very cool.
• 20:35
  And also the fans that I've met at the stage door who are now, like this is their first musical.
• 20:42
  And I remember my first musical and like that changed everything for me.
• 20:45
  And that was the reason why I'm here today.
• 20:47
  you know, being able to impact that younger generation and being able to see them so excited to be at the theater really, really holds a special place in my heart.
• 20:59
  Before I let you go, I gotta know what was that first musical for you that really started this journey?
• 21:03
  My first musical at eight years old was Next to Normal, which I don't think my parents knew what kind of show they were taking me to.
• 21:12
  But I, a lot of it went over my head, obviously I was eight, but it was really special to see people connecting on stage and I was moved and I didn't know why I was moved, you
• 21:24
  know?
• 21:24
  It was just like the connection and the heart and the story of people caring about each other that...
• 21:32
  And you know, seeing the impact that it had on the audience and Not necessarily knowing what was going on in the show, but knowing that it had an impact was what really touched
• 21:46
  me.
• 21:46
  And then from then on I was hooked.
• 21:48
  mean the music and the...
• 21:50
  Yeah, it was...
• 21:52
  that really...
• 21:53
  That was the one, for sure.
• 21:55
  And now you get to be a part of that for somebody else and that makes it even more rewarding.
• 22:01
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 22:03
  Well, thank you so much for your time, Alyssa.
• 22:04
  It has been such a pleasure talking with you.
• 22:06
  Yeah, thank you so much, Brian.
• 22:08
  Back to the Future arrives at the Detroit Opera House October 28th and runs through November 9th.
• 22:13
  So get your tickets at Broadway in Detroit and we'll see you at the show.