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[0:00] Jackson Klein: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. I'm your host, Jackson Klein.

[0:19] Jackson Klein: Making one's Broadway debut is a momentous occasion for every actor lucky enough to do so. Sometimes it happens years into a long run on a seemingly ordinary Tuesday. Other times, it happens on opening night of a highly anticipated Broadway juggernaut. On this episode of My First Time, we invited Carleigh Bettiol into our virtual studio to chat about making her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hamilton. We discussed how Hamilton came into her life, the memories she made working on the show, and how the experience shaped her as an artist. Here's our conversation.

[1:04] Jackson Klein: Hello!

[1:05] Carleigh Bettiol: Hi!

[1:06] Jackson Klein: Can you please introduce yourself and tell our listeners where you're calling from today?

[1:09] Carleigh Bettiol: My name is Carleigh Bettiol. I am from New York City, and that's where I'm calling from.

[1:14] Jackson Klein: So as of our interview today, in late spring 2020, you have performed in three Broadway shows, but today I want to focus our conversation specifically on your Broadway debut, which you made in the original cast of Hamilton. So let's take a quick step back in time. What were you up to professionally when you first auditioned for Hamilton?

[1:33] Carleigh Bettiol: I had just come off of the Flashdance the Musical tour. I was actually understudying the lead role of Alex Owens, and they were looking for a replacement, and they flew me to New York and auditioned me for it and put me through a very rigorous process, and I thought that I had it. I was like, if I just go through this process, like, they'll give it to me. I already have costumes, I know the track, and they put me through all of that and then didn't give it to me, and I was like heartbroken by that. And I had already been with the show for nine months, so I decided to leave the show and go back to New York, which is really hard to do. It's hard to turn down work when you have it, but I just felt like that was the right move for me at the time. And so I came back to New York, and thank God I did, because that's when the audition for the workshop of Hamilton came up.

[2:22] Jackson Klein: And what was that audition process like for you?

[2:24] Carleigh Bettiol: Honestly, I almost didn't go to the audition. I was really scared to go to the audition because I knew, being that it was with that team, with Lynn and with Andy Blankenbuehler and with Alex Lacamoire and Tommy Kail, I knew I was like, there's going to be a ton of Broadway people there. I had never been on Broadway before, and I was scared. So that morning I remember calling my mom and saying, I'm not going to go. And she was like, you need to just go. And thank God, because I went, and there were a ton of people, all Broadway people. And we did a bunch of dance combinations, and then they made a cut and had people sing, and then they made a cut again and had people dance again. And I remember at the end of the day, that day, the whole team came in, Lynn, Tommy, Lac, and Andy, and they all sat in front and watched us all dance.

And then after that, over the next week or so, we came in and out of the Telsey offices to sing the material for understudy work, and we did have to come in again and dance. We had to do a tap combination, which is funny because there is no tap in that show, but Andy always incorporates soft shoe in his show. So, I mean, it was quite a long process, but they eventually narrowed it down and hired four women and five men at that time for the ensemble.

[3:36] Jackson Klein: So you did the workshop of Hamilton. Did you have a sense from the beginning how big this show would end up becoming?

[3:42] Carleigh Bettiol: I did not have a sense from the beginning. I remember when I originally got the material, looking at it and thinking, wow, this music is so incredible, but is there really a huge market for this? Are people coming to visit New York from London? Are they going to want to come over and watch a musical about American history that's hugely based in rap and all of that? I was just like, I just don't see how the market is going to take to this. And ha ha, look at things now, how wrong I was. But I knew that the music was incredible. I knew that the team was incredible. And once I started actually working on the project and seeing how it was taking shape, I was like, oh, okay, I get it. But it wasn't until, honestly, our first couple of previews at the public theater when Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson and Busta Rhymes, all those people started to show up at our previews that I was like, oh, wow, this is going to be a thing.

[4:34] Jackson Klein: So Hamilton is a huge hit downtown at the public. At what point in the run did you find out it would be transferring to Broadway?

[4:41] Carleigh Bettiol: They held a huge press event one morning. We were already in performances at the public. I remember Oscar Eustace from the public theater was standing on top of the bar in the middle of the lobby at the public theater and was making a speech about everything. And then they announced that we were going to Broadway in the summer of 2015.

[4:58] Jackson Klein: Did you find out right away that you'd be transferring with it? Or did you have to wait for that?

[5:03] Carleigh Bettiol: We didn't know for sure. But yeah, I mean, I had to wait until my contract came in to be like, for sure, for sure. But we had a pretty good feeling and a pretty good idea that they were going to take all of us with it.

[5:14] Jackson Klein: So let's flash forward a few months to July 13, 2015, the date that you made your Broadway debut performing in the first preview of Hamilton at the Richard Rogers. What do you remember from that day?

[5:27] Carleigh Bettiol: It's the leading up to it that I remember even more because by that point, we had already been doing the show for months and months down at the public. And yes, it did change between off-Broadway and Broadway. But I remember so clearly walking into the Richard Rogers for the first time and standing on the stage for the first time and looking out at the audience. Because I had stood on a Broadway stage before when you go and you visit your friends and you go backstage afterwards. But I had never felt what it was like to be like, this is where I'm going to be performing and this is the theater I'm going to be working in. And that feeling when the entire cast comes into the theater for the first time and steps on the stage together as a group for the first time is surreal.

I was super emotional. I was super happy. It's a pinch me moment for sure. But that first night, July 13th, is super special. You're very nervous, which is funny because you've already done the show however many times by then. But you get nerves all over again and it's just super exciting.

[6:26] Jackson Klein: What surprised you most about working on Broadway?

[6:28] Carleigh Bettiol: I guess it's the schedule and the work that goes into it. I had done union tours and off-Broadway shows for long periods of time before, so I knew what it was to do eight shows a week and I knew what it was to be in understudy rehearsal. But Hamilton was the longest thing I had ever been a part of. That was about a year and a half I did it on Broadway. And to constantly be in understudy rehearsals and to constantly be putting new people in as people would leave, that was something I had never really done. So the work is just never-ending and that's how shows keep it fresh for their audiences and keep it at the par that everybody expects it to be at. And it's a lot of hard work. It's not as glamorous as people think it is all the time. There are a lot of glamorous moments, don't get me wrong, but there's a lot of work and a lot of time as well.

[7:15] Jackson Klein: Speaking of those glamorous moments, being in an original Broadway cast comes along with so many special events. Cast album recordings, the legacy robe ceremony, performing on the Tonys for Hamilton, the Grammys. Did one of these experiences stand out to you as particularly special?

[7:31] Carleigh Bettiol: The Tonys were particularly special for me. To this day, it was probably one of the best, if not the best day of my life. For those people that listen to this, just to give you a quick breakdown of what it's like to do the Tonys, the day of the Tonys, you wake up very early in the morning, you go to your theaters, you get into your costumes and your wigs and your makeup and all of the things, and then they ship you over to Radio City, or in that case, that year, was at the Beacon Theater. They ship you over to the theater where the Tonys are taking place. You do an entire dress run that is filmed of the Tonys, just in case something goes wrong in the live recording that evening. Then they bring you back to your theater, they supply food, lunch, you can get out of costume and rest for a minute, and then you do a matinee.

And then you have rest again, and then you go back over to the theater where the Tonys are happening, and you do the whole thing live. And then you go to a party, in our case, until 5:30 in the morning. So it was a 24-hour day, and everyone was just super positive and super happy, and we had a blast throughout the entire day. It was unreal.

[8:41] Jackson Klein: What are your strongest memories of performing the show on Broadway?

[8:45] Carleigh Bettiol: The night that Mike Pence came to the show definitely stands out as one of the things that I remember. The first time I went on as Eliza, I went on for her January 10th of 2016. That was the first time I went on for her, and then I went on a bunch after that. So that was nerve-wracking. I had three weeks notice for that, which was a blessing and a curse because you have three weeks to make sure that you're prepared with all your material, but you also have three weeks of panic and no sleep and, you know, all of that. But the cast was incredible and helped me through and just so supportive. And I eventually went on with John Rua, who was another ensemble that covered Hamilton, and I went on with Javier a bunch of times, and I went on with Linna a bunch of times.

So all of those were very special for me. Performing for President Obama and, at the time, the First Lady was incredible. There were so many moments. I mean, we had a different celebrity, if not multiple celebrities, every single night, day, after matinees, after evening shows, that we could come backstage after the show and meet and hug and shake hands with and talk to and get pictures with. I mean, the whole experience was just incredible.

[9:56] Jackson Klein: You left the company of Hamilton in November 2016. You'd been working on the show nearly two years between workshop, Off-Broadway, and then Broadway. How did you reach that decision?

[10:06] Carleigh Bettiol: It was a really hard decision for me, and I battled with it for a very long time because, again, going back to what I said about when I left Flashdance, it's hard to leave work when you have work. But I had been with the show for quite a while. I was eager to continue to build my resume and make a name for myself, and I wanted to see, can I do this again? Can I get another Broadway show? Or is this kind of like something I got lucky with? I was really curious, and I was also hungry as a creative person to just work on something else. So ultimately, that's why I decided to leave. It was really just to further my career and try and work on other things.

[10:46] Jackson Klein: What's the biggest lesson you learned by being an ensembleist in Hamilton?

[10:50] Carleigh Bettiol: The ensemble is huge in the telling of a show. If you picture the show without an ensemble, the story is not going to be told in the same way. That's why I think Andy Blankenbuehler is such a genius, because he can tell an entire story through movement. I just think that that's so special. I think it brings the show to a completely different height that I think is very important, and I think that ensemble members are super important to the process and to the shows that we're in.

[11:16] Jackson Klein: So since leaving Hamilton, you have gotten to perform on Broadway again, twice more, in the closing company of Bandstand, and then the original cast of The Cher Show. How did your experience at Hamilton influence how you approached those jobs?

[11:25] Carleigh Bettiol: Well, Bandstand was a very quick thing. So I would say, as far as with Bandstand, I think going through the workshop process of Hamilton, where you're coming in every single day, and the team is throwing choreography at you different from the day before, and throwing lyrics at you different from the day before, and you're constantly just having to be on your game and able to make those changes quickly. It's a lot of multitasking. It's learning very fast and applying very fast. I had to learn Bandstand in two weeks, and it wasn't like I was stepping into Beauty and the Beast or something, where I know the story, I know the music, I know how it goes. I didn't know the story, I didn't know the music, I didn't know any of that.

So you're not only learning choreography and blocking and where you're supposed to be, you're also learning lyrics and harmonies and storyline, what comes after what. So I would say that Hamilton helped me with that, as far as pace and being able to learn quickly. And then with Cher, it's just being a part of an original company. Hamilton has definitely taught me to know my worth and to fight for my worth. So I think going into the original company of The Cher Show, there were a bunch of instances where I applied that, and that definitely came from my experience on Hamilton.

[12:46] Jackson Klein: So to wrap up our conversation today, I have one last question for you. If you could go back in time to 2014, just before the start of your Hamilton journey, what advice would you give to your younger self?

[12:56] Carleigh Bettiol: I tried to be very present throughout that whole journey. I stayed after every show late to meet every celebrity and get pictures if I could. And I really tried to take advantage of all of the wonderful things that came out of that and soak it all up. I wouldn't change anything about my time there. It holds a very special place in my head and my heart. And I have nothing but fond memories when I think back to that show. So I don't think I'd change anything.

[13:27] Jackson Klein: Special thanks to Carleigh Bettiol for joining us today. The Ensemblist was produced by Mo Brady and me, Jackson Klein. There are two great ways to help The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. The second is by becoming a Patreon member, which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow us wherever you listen to your podcasts, whether that be on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at our home of Broadway Podcast Network at bpn.fm. You can also follow us on Instagram, where we share all of our latest episodes. Thanks for listening. Until next time.