This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Hey, I'm Gabrielle Nevaeh. Welcome to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:11] Alan Seales: Hey, everyone. Welcome to an all-new episode of The Theatre Podcast. In honor of the first part of the last season of Stranger Things dropping a few days ago, I decided to put out this episode with Gabrielle Nevaeh, who plays Patty Newby in Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway. And she is someone who has been performing professionally since she was barely a teenager. But what really struck me during our conversation is just how much of her journey has been powered by grit and self-awareness and this unwavering belief that she can figure anything out if she just kind of jumps in and does it. I mean, this is someone who casually went to a seven-hour callback, performed practically the entire Stranger Things: The First Shadow script as a one-woman show, lost her voice in the process, and still walked out thinking, well, I did what I came to do. So this conversation covers everything from her early years in Florida as a painfully shy kid who literally used to shake in front of class, why she still loves a drunk audience member yelling out the obnoxious from the back of the house, and even talks about juggling multiple shows while in high school, growing up essentially on what she calls Nickelodeon High, and the surreal moment she realized she's now part of the actual Stranger Things universe, bowing every night to the iconic theme and hearing 2,000 people collectively lose their minds at the drop of the season five trailer. This is fun. This is inspiring. And if you've ever needed a reminder that the only real limits are the ones in your head, this conversation is going to do it for you. So let's get into it. Here is Gabrielle Nevaeh.

[1:49] Alan Seales: Today's guest is a truly amazing performer whose early credits include a standout role in the reboot of Nickelodeon's All That, recurring appearances on That Girl Lay Lay and Danger Force, and a popular voiceover role as Clawdeen Wolf in Monster High. She expanded her repertoire with work on Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai and Curses, and has hosted major Nickelodeon events including the Slime Cup, the Kids' Choice Awards. And along the way, she's earned a Young Artist Award and an Emmy nomination for her onscreen work before making her Broadway debut as Patty Newby in Stranger Things: The First Shadow, where she continues to shape the character in collaboration with the creative team. Gabrielle Nevaeh, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:28] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

[2:31] Alan Seales: Dude, Nickelodeon, of course, like, I'm, okay, I'm gonna date myself. I'm 45.

[2:37] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Okay.

[2:37] Alan Seales: And so I saw the original All That.

[2:39] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, yeah.

[2:39] Alan Seales: And I, like, when Nickelodeon became a thing, that was, like, what my brother and I watched nonstop, right? So, like, you stepping into this world, what was that like for you kind of coming in as, I'll say, like, the probably the third generation of kids?

[2:55] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It totally was.

[2:56] Alan Seales: Yeah?

[2:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. I mean, it was a crazy situation because that was my first professional, like, series regular job. I had never done sketch comedy. I had never really looked in the direction of sketch, like, writing my own things, just wasn't in my repertoire. At most I had watched SNL.

[3:13] Alan Seales: Right, right, right.

[3:13] Gabrielle Nevaeh: So I ended up getting All That, and all of a sudden we were on the Today Show. We were this place and that place, and Kenan Thompson was on set. So it was kind of like everything was happening at once, and to have people who, like, grew up on the original be fans of this reboot and, like, come every Friday to our live tapings, it was surreal at 13 to, like, be rebranding the All That franchise and bringing that to a new audience.

[3:38] Alan Seales: Well, how did you even get considered for this? I mean, like, the audition story said at 13 you got this, so were you already performing? Where did you grow up?

[3:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, so I'll take you way back. I started performing in Florida. I went to a performing arts school, and this story kind of ties into Patty Newby, way down the line. But I went to a performing arts school, and I was a theater major. I was super, super shy. I would get up in front of the class and start shaking, like, turning red, start sweating. I had a musical theater teacher that would bring two students up to the front of the class, and one would always be audition ready, one would not be audition ready, and I was always the kid that was not audition ready. Just because I was so shy and nervous, I figured that you can't perform in front of 25 people. What makes you think you can perform in front of 2,000? So Broadway was like, take that off the table. That's never going to happen. So long story short, I fell in love with acting at that school. My parents had a lot of faith in me. I'm an only child, and my parents were retiring at that time, so they were like, okay, let's just put everything into Gabrielle. This is what she wants to do. Let's take her to L.A. We don't know anybody. We don't come from a performing family. So let's just take a leap of faith. So what ended up happening was, we moved to L.A. for what we felt was going to be just six months. We moved with six suitcases.

[4:58] Alan Seales: Wait, how old were you at this point?

[5:05] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I was 12 at this point.

[5:05] Alan Seales: Okay.

[5:10] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. So I was in sixth grade, still trying to find my wits about me, figure out who I was. But I had a pair of parents that were really gung-ho about, this is what she wants to do, so we're going to just support her for however long she wants to do it. Moved to L.A., six suitcases, five of them were mine. We were living in a studio apartment in L.A., three people and a dog, one bathroom, lots of opposition. I was in acting class every day and just training super hard. I was super driven, super focused. I got really close on a lot of projects. I was in talks with Disney about different things and Nickelodeon at the same time. So that was kind of our cue to be like, okay, maybe she should stay for longer than six months. And within that same year, I got the audition for All That, in which I wasn't really going to audition for. I mean, my team didn't really, at that time, I was in the running for a project over at Disney that was kind of Stranger Things-esque, but it was like Stranger Things lite. They were like, oh, maybe you should do this.

[6:11] Alan Seales: Mediocre things.

[6:11] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what was so interesting was that project over at Disney wasn't picked up yet. So it was just a pilot, whereas All That had the 13 episode order already. It was already up and running. So I gave it my best shot. They wanted me to create three original characters and also pick from this batch of sides to read from. So I did a Beyonce impression.

[6:38] Alan Seales: I was going to ask if that was one of them.

[6:38] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, it sure was. Maya Rudolph is such a huge inspiration for me. So I was like, okay, she did that on SNL. Maybe I can do my own version of that. So that's what I did. I did a neurotic waiter, and I did a Valley Girl version of Vital Information, the original that Lori Beth Denberg did on All That. So that's what I did. And it was a long, extensive audition process of rewriting the characters in the room, doing lots of improv, mix and match sessions with other actors. And then I landed the job, which was crazy. Brian Robbins, who was the head of Nick at that time, he really instilled a lot of faith in me and appreciated my ambition and drive because I was a fresh face. I hadn't really done anything prior to that. So just having the guts to be like, hey, this is me. This is what I do. I've never done this before, but I'm willing to be malleable and figure it out. I honestly think that's what got me the job.

[7:41] Alan Seales: But you said you were shy. You had stage fright.

[7:44] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, I sure did.

[7:44] Alan Seales: You shake when you think about this stuff. But the characters that you go into are so out there.

[7:52] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. So what's so interesting is that when I was growing up, I had a lot of insecurity with who I was. I grew up in a predominantly white area. I'm a biracial girl. I look completely different than my peers at that time. So when I started acting, I recognized that the breakdowns that were coming in, they wanted who I authentically was. I went through a period of time where I was straightening my hair and trying to just fit in any way that I could. But the breakdowns were like, biracial girl, 12 to 13, has curly hair, has quirky aspects about her or whatever. They were wanting the authentic version of myself. They didn't want that facade that I was trying to put on. So that's kind of like how I grew out of the shy aspect of, I can't do this. I think acting kind of provided the way to find myself.

[8:51] Alan Seales: Interesting.

[8:51] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah.

[8:52] Alan Seales: Did you realize that during the audition process, before you landed All That, or was it afterwards? Because when you go in and do one of the Beyonce characters, it's one of the recurring things that you see clips of all over YouTube now, right? And to go in there and be afraid of that, I don't think you would have landed it otherwise if you had been afraid at that time.

[9:14] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. I think early on, it was a lot of trial by fire of what fits and what doesn't. Because acting is a lot of yeses, it's a lot of nos, it's a lot of rejection. But understanding, when you have that thing in you that's like, okay, this is who I am, it makes everything easier. So I think by the time All That came around, I kind of went through that whole period of, okay, this is what casting is responding to. This isn't what they're responding to as far as who I was as a human. So yeah, I think that whole process of just learning and you don't know unless you try. It's not something that anyone really comes into this industry knowing. You just kind of have to figure it out by auditioning and having meetings and talking to people and really paying attention to the feedback of, okay, when I try and be funny and I try and really push it, it doesn't work. But when I just chill and let things flow, that's when the magic starts to happen. That's something that I kind of was fortunate to figure out early on.

[10:21] Alan Seales: That's what I was about to ask about, having the self-awareness at 11, 12, 13. You said you were on national TV at 13. And to be able to all of a sudden flip this switch of like, oh, they're responding to that. I'm thinking back to my own 12 and 13-year-old self. And to be able to undo that wall that at that time you're just starting to build up. You know what I mean? Am I making sense? That's when you start to interact with people in a more adult, I'll put an air quotes, way, right? And you're like, well, at least for me, I was like, well, who do I need to be to give them what they want out of this conversation? And that's something I've been working on for years. But did you always, you were just like, oh, that's working. So I'm going to go down that path and then never look back?

[11:19] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I'm an only child and I was raised in a world of adults. So I think that helped me recognize how to navigate the adult world at such a young age. My mom is very business-minded. She was a businesswoman. I don't come from a family of entertainers. So I was able to recognize through conversation what was working and what wasn't. But when you're 12 and 13, obviously you don't know who you are. I'm 20 now and I still don't know who I am, but you know, we're still trying to figure it out, but it's like, you're playing a character, right? And it's like, which character is going to work for what? If I'm auditioning for something that's Nick and Disney, that looks one way. If I'm auditioning for something for CBS or for Fox, that's going to look another. So I think keying in on, all right, you have Gabrielle and then you have your party self. You have your business self. You have who you are with your friends and who you are with your parents. It's very different. And I think having that awareness as a kid of like something simple of, okay, you behave this way at school, but you're not necessarily going to behave this way at church or in front of your grandma. You know what I mean? So it's very similar to that, like picking a different personality for different situations. You got to be a chameleon.

[12:32] Alan Seales: Unless your grandma's a casting director.

[12:32] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you can muddle the lines there, but yeah.

[12:37] Alan Seales: No, that's interesting. And I guess being on set, being around other kids was, I guess, being on set, was that sort of like your high school? Because-

[12:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Totally was. Yeah. I was homeschooled from seventh grade to through graduation. So I had kind of a really, I had an unorthodox and strange childhood. I grew up on TV. Like, that's going to be really weird when I have kids in the future to be like, this is what mom looked like when she was 13. And this is what she looked like when she was 19. So, you know, every awkward phase was documented. I can tell you what was going on during certain episodes. But yeah, my high school was basically Nick High. And my classmates were all of the shows, all of the kids on all the different shows that were airing at that time. And it's really interesting now because I recently went to a birthday party of somebody that I grew up with. And our life is kind of documented in stages, like the same group of Nick and Disney kids. We're all just older. You know what I mean? It's kind of a strange thing to explain. But yeah, I went to Nick and Disney High.

[13:42] Alan Seales: And did they have organized classes on set, like between like setting up scenes and whatnot? They'd bring in tutors at like today's reading day, tomorrow's math day, you know, in between shooting?

[13:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: For me, I went to an online program. I was academically gifted. So I had like a special thing.

[14:04] Alan Seales: And you still are.

[14:05] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Appreciate it. But so I did online school. And how it would work was, it was mandatory for us to do three hours every day. And we would all do our own individual programs in the same room. So like on That Girl Lay Lay, for example, I was the oldest kid. So I was like, in 11th grade, Lele was probably in ninth grade. And then you had the boy who played my little brother who was in middle school. So you had to have a set teacher that was well rounded and everything. And the set teacher was basically there just to be a tutor. You know, we were self-sufficient and like had to figure it out kind of on our own and pass. Because that was the other thing, you had to get good grades in order to do this. Otherwise, you couldn't get your work permit and you couldn't work.

[14:55] Alan Seales: Wait, wait, wait, what?

[14:56] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. So you have to...

[14:58] Alan Seales: The show cares about your grades?

[15:00] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Sure does.

[15:00] Alan Seales: Wow.

[15:01] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Sure does. It's almost like basketball, right? Like you have to get good grades to be on the team. So no one was stupid. Like I think when I say like, I went to Nick High and like I was homeschooled, like it can have a certain perception. But I graduated with high honors, all AP classes, top of my class. Like it was a serious thing. In my senior year of high school, I was shooting seven shows at once and still trying to graduate high school.

[15:27] Alan Seales: Seven shows?

[15:28] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah.

[15:28] Alan Seales: Why?

[15:29] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. Well, because it's what I love to do, you know?

[15:32] Alan Seales: And high school.

[15:33] Gabrielle Nevaeh: And high school and friends and family and everything else, all the regular life stuff. So, you know, it's one of those things. You learn how to juggle it all. And that becomes your norm, I guess, just like any child in any environment. Yeah, that's what you get used to. And I mean, were there the same, like at Nick High, were there the same sort of like drama behind the scenes, you know?

[15:49] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Sure.

[15:49] Alan Seales: Oh, I bet Jimmy likes you. Like that kind of stuff. Like my kids are in fourth grade and fifth grade. And so they're now they're starting to like so-and-so has a crush on so-and-so.

[16:03] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, yeah.

[16:04] Alan Seales: Like, oh, God.

[16:05] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Of course there was. I mean, it's just it's also different when everyone wants to know your business. Right?

[16:12] Alan Seales: In the public too?

[16:13] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. Like you've got everybody on Instagram and TikTok like, oh, well, did you see the look Gabrielle gave so-and-so in this video? But it's all the normal high school stuff, just heightened.

[16:24] Alan Seales: Wow. Did that affect you at all? Or were you just like, yeah, whatever? It's, you know.

[16:28] Gabrielle Nevaeh: No.

[16:29] Alan Seales: I get it becomes your norm. But did you know that was not normal for most?

[16:33] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, totally. Totally. But I, I didn't have a taste of what that normal was. So I was aware, like, okay, it's not normal for like, Tiger Beat to be writing these articles about you hanging out with so-and-so. But like, that's all I knew. So just having that awareness of, okay, you have to kind of be aware of you're 16. And you want to go have fun and do this and go to Six Flags and blah, blah, blah. But you also have to be aware that, you know, people have phones and they can be recording and dah, dah, dah. And I think my parents were really helpful and instrumental with making sure that I felt normal and I didn't feel ostracized or feel weird or like I was a butterfly under a microscope. But, you know, you live and you learn. You navigate it the way, the best that you can.

[17:29] Alan Seales: Don't go anywhere. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

[17:29] Gabrielle Nevaeh: All right, everyone. Now we're back. And what I've seen of you, I mean, on TV is they're very big characters. There's like, I mean, I don't want this to come out the wrong way. It's not like this small, subtle performance. It's heightened. It's heightened because it's for kids, right?

[17:48] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yes.

[17:48] Alan Seales: And do you think that has helped you translate to theater, to the stage?

[17:53] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, totally. I mean, because it seems like sort of the same magnification of character.

[17:57] Alan Seales: It totally is. I mean, so I grew up doing Nickelodeon multicam, which is a very specific type of acting. And it translates to Stranger Things because you still have to be able to perform for the back of the house. For me, I had a lot of performance anxiety early on, given my history, because, you know, I mean, going into Stranger Things, going into Stranger Things, I was very nervous because I knew that some people would have that predetermined idea of what my performance might be. So that was a lot of self-imposed pressure of, okay, Patty's got to be this way. And it's got to be super serious. And it's got to, you know, you have to prove yourself in the Broadway community, which, you know, I had to learn to release that. And Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin and Kate Trefry, the writer of the play, they really instilled a lot of confidence in me because not only was this the most extensive and difficult audition process, but they allowed me to kind of cultivate the character and cultivate the performance to fit my instrument, which was very new to me. So having that background with That Girl Lay Lay and all that and all that good stuff, technical aspects of like certain comedy beats and certain physicality within the play, that came very naturally. But Patty Newby isn't a comedic character.

[19:21] Alan Seales: No, they have funny moments, but it's not a comedy.

[19:21] Gabrielle Nevaeh: No, it's not. And is that, I guess, well, okay, let me back up a second. So going into Stranger Things, was that a conscious choice to sort of diversify what people know you for? Or was it just like, I want to do a stage play as the next step in my evolution. I'll take anything that is offered. I won't say anything, but I will consider anything versus I want a comedy, I want a drama, I want whatever. Were you trying to diversify on purpose?

[19:50] Gabrielle Nevaeh: So what happened was I got the audition for Stranger Things: The First Shadow during the SAG strike. So there was no film and TV work. I read the audition and I was like, absolutely not. I'm never going to book Broadway because that voice from that musical theater teacher way back in Florida when I was going to that performing arts school that was like, okay, Gabby, you can't perform in front of 25 people. You can never perform in front of 2000. That was what was playing in my mind. So I was reading the audition. I was like, come on, Broadway guys, like, why would you even send this to me?

[20:24] Alan Seales: Like your team sent it to you.

[20:28] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. And even my team was like, yeah, I know we're probably not going to book it, but, you know, let's just try. So I did the audition for fun, just like audition practice to be like, all right, maybe the Duffer Brothers will see it, consider me for the spinoff, consider me for whatever else they have going on, but definitely not the stage play. So I sent it in. Two weeks later, they called me back to just a callback in LA. I was like, all right, well, I'll go and just like make friends. So I go and Stephen Daldry's in the room, Justin Martin, Jim Carnahan, and a few other assistants. And I do my thing. They send me out in the lobby and they don't let me leave. They're like, why don't you hang out? We're going to have you read with another actor. So I ended up doing like an impromptu chemistry read. And then they released me. They sent me home. So I'm walking back to my car and I hear this Englishman yelling after me. I'm like, what is happening? What's going on? And like, I'm not going to do the impression, but basically was saying, Gabrielle, wait. And I turned around. It's Stephen Daldry in the middle of the street. And I'm like, whoa, what's happening, guys? He's like about to get hit by a car. And he's asking me to come back the next day. And I was like, all right.

[21:43] Alan Seales: Stephen not have a cell phone?

[21:45] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Stephen? Well, I mean, Stephen not have an assistant that could have emailed and like he himself got up from his desk, ran out of the building.

[21:54] Alan Seales: Into the street.

[21:55] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Into the street before I could get into my car. So I was like, okay, well, I guess I have to come back. So came back the next day and the next day and the next day and the next day. It was like I had a call time of 10 a.m. Wow. And I was reading with different boys. I was doing different scenes at that time. I didn't know this, but we were rewriting the play because what would happen was we would do the scenes in the room and then we would come out into the lobby. Stephen would sit next to me and we would be with whoever was reading for Henry at that time. And we would just be rewriting, rewriting the scene and we would go back in and do it. And that Friday, they were like, okay, great, thanks. And that was it. So I was like, okay, well, I did what I was supposed to do. Like this was way more than what I had anticipated. And then about a month later, we heard back and they wanted me to come to New York for a callback. And I was like, all right, sure.

[22:46] Alan Seales: Yeah, that was the callback in New York.

[22:51] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, that was like the final callback where they were like, okay, this is where we're going to make a decision. So I was like, okay, I'm packing. It's the night before. And we get an email that says, oh, by the way, bring your musical theater book. We want you to have a song. And I'm like, what do you say?

[23:07] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Well, yeah, but singing at this point was never a part of the deal. It was never a part of the conversation. This was just a play. So I'm freaking out. I'm like, I don't have a musical theater book. I'm not a musical theater girlie. Like, what do you mean? So like, I'm frantic and my mom's like, let's go to Guitar Center. We're going to get some sheet music. I'm like, I'm pretty sure that's not what they mean. So we ended up, I thought it was a funny idea to kind of turn my lemons into lemonade. I remembered that song that my musical theater teacher used to have me sing in front of the class. It was I've Got Rhythm by Judy Garland. And I was like, wouldn't it be cool if I happened to book this Broadway show by singing that song that used to embarrass me as a kid? And that's what I ended up doing.

[23:54] Alan Seales: A little middle finger to your old teacher.

[23:59] Gabrielle Nevaeh: No, no, no, I'll love, I'll love. But so I went to New York and had a seven-hour callback. They gave me a lunch break. I did the entire play as a one-woman show with a reader. Yeah, I know. Isn't that crazy? It's like borderline slave labor there, I guess. Like, they should pay you for that sort of thing.

[24:19] Gabrielle Nevaeh: It was insane. I lost my voice at the end of the day. I was singing. I was doing almost every Patty scene, every, every Patty and Henry scene I had done. But, of course, there are a few others that we didn't hit by the end of the seven hours. But that was it. And I figured like, I put my all into it. And this was way more than I could have ever asked for. They're asking me now in the room, like, how would I feel about moving to New York? And I was transparent. I was like, you know, I, I've always wanted to live in the city. And I'm trying to like, feel it out. I don't know what they mean. And they sent me home. And I'm like, okay, well, seven hours did the whole play sung for you. I don't know what else to do about that.

[25:01] Alan Seales: Why did they have you sing though? Did you ever figure that out?

[25:05] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I sing in the play.

[25:05] Alan Seales: Do you?

[25:10] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, a little bit.

[25:10] Alan Seales: I've seen it twice.

[25:10] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, just a little bit. Just a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come at me. Come at me, all right. But no, so what's interesting is that in London, our play is totally different. In London, Patty is supposed to be this epic, great, like Mariah Carey singer. She has this huge number. And in the room at that seven-hour callback, I was like, guys, this is what I sound like. Like, am I a trained, classically trained musical theater singer? No, but I can like carry a tune. And this is what I sound like. And so that's where the church sequence came from in our play, where they go and they see her dream. Not to give too much of that away. That's where that came from. And it's really, really cool to like, be able to shape the character and have a hand in some sort of creative decision with the Stranger Things franchise, Stranger Things universe. I mean, come on, I grew up watching Stranger Things. It's an epic story. It's an epic, you know, it was over the span of 10 years. The kids are your age. Yes. And like, now all of a sudden, I created a character like what in the world? And the team, the writing team of The First Shadow, the stage play, wrote, is still involved with writing the series on Netflix. So like the way that this prequel is set up, it fits exactly to set up things that I'm sure we're just now going to see as the rest of season five is dropping. It's incredible. It's incredible.

[26:38] Alan Seales: Have you seen any? Like, as we're recording, we're recording November here. The rest of season five hasn't come out yet. But like, have you seen any of it? Have they shown you?

[26:50] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Not a tap. No. Listen, I'm such a huge Stranger Things fan. I didn't want to see anything. I didn't want to see anything. I didn't want to know what I didn't have to know. I mean, obviously, there are certain things for like, character development and character creation that I have to know. But anything that was just like extra, I was like, la la la la la, don't want to know, don't want to hear it. Just because I want to be surprised with the rest of the world. You know, I like everyone else have loved this series since I was like, 12. You know, so it's, I want to have that satisfying ending of like, seeing whoever, you know, whatever may happen. And when they started airing the season five trailer at the end of your show, they didn't tell you they were going to do that. And that is epic every night. Because when the curtain comes down, and we all leave, we hear the roar of the crowd. You know, because even if you've seen the trailer, it's nothing like seeing it in the theater with all the people that you just had this epic experience with watching our play. Yeah, it's like you're seeing the TV show on a movie stage. It's incredible. It's incredible. And being able to hear that backstage, because we can obviously hear the trailer and all that. It's bone chilling. Like I get goosebumps every night. I still get goosebumps going out to bow to the Stranger Things theme song. Like, it's, it's a dream come true, not to be corny, but like, this is a gift. This is the best thing that I've ever done. As a huge Stranger Things fan. I get to walk in Hawkins every night. I get to bow to the Stranger Things theme song and have people clap for the performance that I just did on stage. Are you kidding me? It's crazy.

[28:27] Alan Seales: Yeah, that is crazy. And it's like, you're threading this needle of shooting up to stardom, I want to say, right? Like, you're just like, all right, I'm just gonna show up here. And then oh, shit, I booked it. And then I'm gonna, yeah, I'll do this thing for fun. And oh, crap, I got a week of callbacks. And yeah, I'll go to New York. Oh, crap, seven hours later, they just asked me if I like, you know, you're doing all these things of saying yes, and not letting each of these unexpected things kind of like bother you or cause or maybe they are like, would you have anxiety around any of this? Or was it just like, I'm not gonna get it. I'm just gonna go for fun.

[29:55] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Well, I don't know if it was anxiety by the third callback in LA. That was kind of when I knew it was getting serious. Like, okay, they could have not called you back. You know what I mean? So I think that was kind of the turning point of like, oh, I really do want this. And I always I wanted it from the beginning, but I never wanted to get my hopes up, you know, be crushed about it. Because, you know, it's that same voice, that same little 11 year old that that was so shy, and couldn't, you know, give the presentation in front of the class. I just, it was like an armor. It was like a protective shield of like, I don't care about it. You know, if I get it, so what? But then like, by the third callback, when we were rewriting things, and you know, Jim Carnahan is kind of like, giving me the wink and the nod of like, you know, do your thing, kid. I was kind of I was all in, you know, and I, some auditions, you're like, I need this. And this was kind of one of those things. I needed it to prove to myself that I could do it. It was no one else's, you know, I didn't need it to prove to anyone else that I was, you know, more than a Nickelodeon actor, or blah, blah, blah, this was a love letter to my childhood self to be like, look what you can do. And I think my entire career has kind of been based off of, it's a pure example of the limitations of your mind. Yeah, right? Because in theory, I'm not supposed to be here at all. You know, in any capacity, like we go all the way back to All That I had never done sketch comedy, I had never done. At most I had done like seven words on Speechless on ABC was like one line. And then all of a sudden, I'm a series regular I you know, I led the first sitcom on Nickelodeon that featured two black female leads, like, these are things that don't make any sense. When you look at my journey, look at where I came from. Even now being on Broadway, I think that my story is truly your life is determined by the limitations of your mind. If you fully believe that you can go for it and achieve it, who's to say that you can't? What makes me any different than Zendaya or Angela Bassett, different opportunities? You know, yeah, different projects, sure. But you can't tell me that Zendaya, Angela Bassett, Marseille Martin, whoever doesn't wake up in the morning and say, Oh, yeah, I can do this. I got this.

[31:18] Alan Seales: I mean, there's like Tony multi Tony award winning people that I've talked to for years that all still get stage fright that all still get nervous for auditions that all still go in and crack. It's during auditions. And yeah, just like I think what sets the good apart from the great is how you handle the failure how you handle when you don't have something go your way.

[31:38] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, totally. Totally. I mean, that's, that's every, that's every journey. I mean, I, I, I was up for something that was going to be life changing about two years ago. And it was like a, it was like a three picture deal with a huge company. And they flew me out to London to do the screen test and blah, blah, blah. I didn't end up getting the job. But what ended up happening was those people, those creatives now know me, you know, I mean, I had the opportunity to be in front of them. So turning that heartache and that pain of, ah, well, now I've got to watch this promo, and I have got to watch, you know, this film come out and dah, dah, dah, dah, you know, turning that into, well, look, if you had gotten that job, you wouldn't be a part of the Stranger Things franchise, or you wouldn't be able to do this or that, like, you've got to be able to flip it on its head and find the good in all of the not so good things.

[32:34] Alan Seales: Well, that's what I've heard so many times. And I love that you said it again, is that like, there's something you really want something that like is life changing, but then by not walking through that door, it opened up five others that get you where you are and give you the happiness that you have now. Yeah. So it's all like you said, it's all about like embracing the chance that comes your way and really leaning into what works and who you are. Yeah. And again, I still go back to just how impressed I am that you were like, the being that shy kid isn't working there. Everyone's responding to this other person and who I thought they want isn't what's working. So I'm just going to be myself. And then like it just sort of exploded into this success.

[33:15] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, I'm very lucky. I'm very blessed. And I, you know, continue to hope. I hope to continue that.

[33:21] Alan Seales: Don't go anywhere. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

[33:21] Gabrielle Nevaeh: All right, everyone. Now we're back on the stage. Eight shows a week. Stranger Things. I mean, this is not the first time we've tried to have this interview.

[33:33] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, thanks for having me. You know, it's it's been a journey because you had you were having like like problems with your body muscle spasms last time we were trying to get together or something like and then you came in right before we started recording and said it's like running a marathon every night or something.

[33:44] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Stranger Things: The First Shadow is like doing an action movie every night.

[33:50] Alan Seales: Action movie. That's what you said.

[33:50] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Every night. Yeah. Every day. I'm Tom Cruise. And there are no stunt doubles. There's no cut. There's no redo. So it's strenuous. And our job on stage is to make it look flawless, make it look seamless. I've had friends come to the show and be like, I don't understand why you're hurting. Like, that was great. And I'm like, well, girl, then I did my job. Yeah, like that's that's the deal. But it's all a part of it. And I think that's a part of Broadway in general. I mean, it's eight times a week, you get one day off, you're doing the same movements every day. So that can be really strenuous on your body. But you learn how to take care of yourself. I've learned how to take care of my voice. Because I do a lot of screaming, lots of screaming, lots of dialogue, singing is thrown in there. It's a lot of vocal agility. So I have vocal therapy once every two weeks, physical therapy, I nebulize, I steam, I do all the things. So that's been probably the biggest difference between screen acting and stage acting is learning how to take care of the physicality.

[34:54] Alan Seales: Do you enjoy this, the repetition of the eight shows a week in this show, in a way the same, different, better, worse than like, I'll say the three cam setup, because the sitcom setup is a form of stage acting. You're in front of a live audience.

[35:04] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, yeah. When we shot All That, every Friday, they would bring in an audience of like 300 people. Sometimes schools would like be busted. And that was a really fun day. But so I think that having that background, it totally prepped me for this. But it's telling the same story every day, definitely breeds a different type of artistry, right? Because how do you tell the same story 2 million bajillion times and still make it fresh? So learning that and learning how to dissect a story even this far into the run. I mean, I've been doing Stranger Things now since January.

[35:48] Alan Seales: Yeah, it's gonna say it's coming up in a year.

[35:52] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So like, how do you keep that fresh, keep that going? That's been great. And I think that for theater, you have to really, really love and believe in the story. Because for TV, like you can kind of be like, it's not so great, but I don't have to say the same thing every day. Whereas theater is like you're stuck with those words, you're stuck with that character, you're stuck with that story, you better like it. Because if you don't, you're gonna be miserable. So I'm grateful that I love Patty, and I love the storyline with her and Henry, I think it's a very timely story of can love defeat fear. And we have a very controversial answer to that, depending on how you look at it. But I think that Stranger Things has left me a stronger actor, you know, and a stronger performer. So I'm excited to see what that looks like as my journey unfolds.

[36:37] Alan Seales: What kind of audience feedback have you had? That maybe something that surprised you? Because I'm sure you have a lot of fans of your past work that have come to see the show. And they're like, but you weren't funny. And I'm sure they met that as a compliment.

[36:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, sometimes people say things that comes out a little weird, right? Yeah, I mean, I always feel a little bad, because every day at the stage door, I meet a young child that loved me on Macro Lele. And I'm like, Oh, my God, were you scared? I'm so sorry. Because a lot of the themes that Patty deals with, they're hard. They're really hard. And it's very different than anything that I've ever done. But I think the coolest thing about Stranger Things is the mega fans. There's a girl that's come to see our show 50 times five zero. Yeah, she like basically knows all of my lines. We love her. I met a pair of best friends the other night that got my radio prop tattooed on them. And one of my lines tattooed on them. I was like, what is going on? And that's something that I've never had before. So the fan, the fan response has been great. It's been exciting. You've got people dressing up like Patty at the stage door. It's pretty sick.

[37:47] Alan Seales: That was that's cool. A tattoo, man. Yeah. Like the the way that some people dive into fantasy and just the world of fiction. I mean, this is why I think like art is so important, because it takes it takes us out of our normal mundane our everyday and helps us grow and help us see things in a new way and have something. I mean, this is why storytelling we're as a species, right? We just evolved to survive on stories because we learned from the past and like, hey, Ugga Bugga just ate that berry that killed them. Don't eat that again. Right. So we're based our whole heritage is based on stories. And then to have the extreme of like all the things that don't that we don't know that we still can't explain. We can't explain so much. We have so much science now. But to be able to like dive into this world that's like maybe there is an upside down. Maybe there is a spirit, a spiritual. Maybe there's a mind flayer out there. Like what is going on that's making us all like just be better people or be scared or motivate us. Right. And to be able to bring this to stage and make it fresh and make it unique and put your spin on it every night. I mean, like it's like you said, it's an experience you needed.

[39:01] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. It's magical. Magic. Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Magic. It's magical. Like it's really it's it's magical to be on stage and hear the audience reaction for better or for worse if they're screaming because they're scared or they're laughing or they're going on because Patty and Henry just had a cute moment or whatever. It's incredible to know that you're having that impact on real people, because when you do TV, it's there's a barrier, right? Like you may never meet the people that are watching your show, but on stage you get to have that immediacy with them. You get to have that living, breathing, symbiotic relationship to know what's working, what's not, what's happening. Like are they being impacted? I have a very timely line at the end of the play when Patty is basically trying to advocate for Henry and save him from Dr. Brenner. And every night it's always a different reaction. Sometimes we get cheers. Sometimes we get gasps. Like, did she really just say that? Sometimes it's just dead silent. But knowing that you're having that impact on people, it's truly a beautiful experience as a performer.

[40:03] Alan Seales: I like the dead silence sometimes because it shows they're like, wait, what? They don't know how to process it.

[40:08] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I love when we have a rowdy audience. It makes me so happy. I love when the audience is drunk.

[40:19] Alan Seales: Those are all the kids that know you from Nickelodeon, right?

[40:23] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Right. Yeah, totally. That's it. The audience also takes on one personality every night. It's 2,000 people, but they're either all silly, they're all stoic, they're all drunk, they're all really into it or not. I personally love the audiences that think they're a part of the play. I think it's great. They're shouting back at you and everything.

[40:44] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Honestly, yeah. The other night, Brenner goes to Henry, he goes, now tell me how you feel. And this woman screams, scared, I'm really scared. And the whole audience just cracks up. And we're laughing backstage because we're like, valid. Honestly, we're scared too. So yeah, I think it's great and it makes the performance so much more fun. So if you come see the play, don't be shy.

[41:13] Alan Seales: The statistic, what is it? 65%?

[41:17] Gabrielle Nevaeh: 65% are new theater goers.

[41:19] Alan Seales: Never seen a Broadway show before.

[41:20] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, yeah.

[41:21] Alan Seales: So every single show, over half of them, you're giving them their first time.

[41:25] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Isn't that epic?

[41:26] Alan Seales: That is amazing.

[41:27] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, it's incredible. It's a huge honor. It's an honor to be able to help the Broadway community as well to be like, hey, maybe go see something else. You liked this, so you'll love maybe Happy Ending or what have you. So that's been truly incredible to be a part of a revolution, honestly. Stranger Things is revolutionizing theater. We've never done these special effects, these stunts on stage before. It's something new that the theater community has never seen. And then on top of it, you're also bringing a new audience, which with that new audience, you guys, I know that you've never come to see a Broadway play. Please do not film the performance.

[42:12] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Please.

[42:12] Alan Seales: Please. Now, I love the edits on TikTok. I'm huge on TikTok. I'm on my For You page scrolling and I'm like, girl, wait, that's me as Patty Newby. Why am I? Oh, no, no, no, no. I mean, secretly, there's a part of me that does love it, but we're working very hard on stage. And what we love about theater is what happens in the theater stays in the theater. If somebody falls over a set piece, you saw a special show that night. If there's a show stop, I mean, hey, you got to see the Netflix loading symbol for however long.

[42:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Do they do that?

[42:47] Alan Seales: They sure do.

[42:47] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, that's awesome.

[42:48] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what happens in the theater stays in the theater. And I love that people are coming to see the show and they're excited. And it's pretty cool when our special mind flayer friend comes out of nowhere, but just keep it in the theater. That's all I'll say.

[43:05] Alan Seales: Yeah. And one of the things that I noticed terribly distracting is when I sat on the renovated stage portion during Cabaret. Did you ever see that?

[43:16] Gabrielle Nevaeh: No, I've not seen Cabaret.

[43:17] Alan Seales: So before it closed, right?

[43:18] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah.

[43:19] Alan Seales: You know, they put the stage like downstage center and then put audience seating behind.

[43:24] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah.

[43:24] Alan Seales: So I was on this, I'll put in quotes, I was on the stage watching the show, and then I could see the rest of the house and someone was out there with their phone.

[43:31] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah.

[43:31] Alan Seales: I could see it clear as day.

[43:33] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, we can see it.

[43:36] Alan Seales: It's so not inconspicuous, people.

[43:39] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I mean, I get it. Like, it's cool. And I'd probably want to do the same thing. But like, I know, it's a part of the appreciation of the performance, like you're filming because it's cool, and you love it. And you want to have that forever. Like it's a concert.

[43:54] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[43:55] Gabrielle Nevaeh: But it's it's a classical form of performing. And it's just it's a it's a relationship between you and I as a performer. Yeah, it's just it's a little disappointing when we see the phone.

[44:08] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[44:09] Gabrielle Nevaeh: But I get it. I understand. I get it. No shade, like if you have come to the show and like, shot something like no shade at all. But you know, it's yeah, it's just a little like, wah, wah.

[44:19] Alan Seales: It's distracting. It's distracting. But some people don't know better. Because again, 65%.

[44:22] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, and no worries.

[44:24] Alan Seales: But yeah, and we're gonna wrap up here in a second. But after this is all over, like, what did did have Kenan and Lorne Michaels come to see you yet? Have they been like, hey, whenever you're done with this, we got an audition for you over at 30 Rock?

[44:39] Gabrielle Nevaeh: You know what Kenan Thompson is a great friend of mine. He's always been an incredible supporter. He actually came to the show and didn't tell me because he just wanted to see like, you know, an uninterrupted performance just wanted to see what gab was up to. And he's got a few projects that I'm hoping to be a part of. And, you know, SNL, I hope to host one day. I don't know about being a cast member. We'll see. But yeah, I have a lot of ambition and a lot of drive and a lot of goals on the vision board that I want to check off. Broadway has been such a gift and so beautiful. Stranger Things has been like my favorite project that I've ever done. But I am looking to get back into film and TV and head back to LA or head to Canada or head to Atlanta, wherever life wants to take me. Would love to be a part of the Stranger Things spinoff. I mean, we go all the way back to the beginning. Like that's why I auditioned in the first place. So yeah, I think that the sky's the limit and I'm open and I'm totally receptive to whatever is out there. I mean, hey, my my screensaver on my phone is me hugging Ross Duffer. So, you know, that's like top tier manifestation there. So yeah, it's been great. It's been a blast.

[45:49] Alan Seales: All right. So we will start to wind down now with plot in 60 seconds. Okay. A little game I like to play. So you said you're not a musical theater girlie. So this is gonna be lots of fun. I have 17 popular musicals listed right here in front of me.

[46:03] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, no, no, no, no. We were doing so well. They're gonna turn it off. They're gonna turn off the interview.

[46:09] Alan Seales: Okay. All right. Sure. I'll do my best. I'll turn it up. Okay. So one through 17, give me a number. That means you will pick and pick from my list by giving me the number and then you give me the plot to that in 60 seconds or less. And you can make it up if you don't know it. That's the fun part.

[46:20] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Okay, great. Well, my lucky number is five. I was born May 5th, 2005 at 5pm. So let's do that.

[46:24] Alan Seales: All right, Mary Poppins, go.

[46:24] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Mary Poppins. Okay, so you've got a woman who can fly and like all of the things in the house are moving. You've got two little kids. And Mary Poppins comes and saves the day. And it's a it's a wonderful musical that is oh my god, wait 45 seconds. Okay. It's a wonderful musical that is by Disney. And they the house flies like that's the big thing in Mary Poppins.

[46:52] Alan Seales: The house?

[46:52] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah, I'm pretty sure the house flies. I'm pretty sure. Look, Allison Jay was in Mary Poppins and she told me the house flies so like this is on her. Okay. And you know, she she sings the song The Spoonful of Sugar. There you go. And what does it do? It helps the medicine go down.

[47:11] Alan Seales: Okay. That's that's what I've got. And you've got Dick Van Dyke in the film. So you know, you've got the chimney song in the musical on Broadway. Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's what I've got.

[47:21] Alan Seales: Okay. Yeah. Not so bad, huh?

[47:28] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. And I still I still had time on the clock. You had five seconds left to make up more details. There you go. Well, I got I got like the the hit kickers. I got the main thing. The hit kicker. All right. Yeah, that's it. All right. You know, Mary Poppins, I kind of I've always gotten it confused with Nanny McPhee. That was after my time.

[47:46] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Wasn't. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's tricky for me. Yeah. Anyway. Anyway, we got it. Yeah, that was like when I was a kid. I was watching Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. All that. Oh, that was my time. Okay. Yeah. There you go. Not so bad. Yeah. Okay. Three standard closing questions. Wrap up every episode with the first one simply is just what motivates you.

[48:08] Gabrielle Nevaeh: What motivates me? I will say I'm a faith based person. That's how I grew up. That's, you know, just kind of the compass of my life. I'd say my parents really motivate me, my mom specifically. And I think I was just born with a natural grit and drive. So I got pretty lucky. I got the luck of the draw with that one. And then that one teacher who just told you you couldn't do it.

[48:30] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Right. Right. Yeah. Like this whole Broadway run is dedicated to that. Yeah. Yeah. All right. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[48:39] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Oh, I would. The advice that I would give would be don't get into this industry unless you love it. You have to love it with every fiber of your being. For me, I eat, sleep and breathe acting. People ask me what my hobby is. I say watching actors on actors on variety. Like that's honestly like for some people the most boring answer. But it's true. If I'm not acting, I'm studying acting. So if you have that same love and passion, I say go for it. Lots of rejection. Everybody says it. It's true. Make sure you remember those who were by your side at the beginning. I have four best friends. They were there when I was 12 years old. We've watched all of our journeys kind of unfold. Some are still acting. Some are. Some aren't. So just remember who was there at the beginning and hold close to those people. And I'd say always continue to study.

[49:30] Alan Seales: All right. Yeah. Last question then. Hardest one. If you could only see one show for the rest of your life, you can see it as many times as you want. What would you say?

[49:40] Gabrielle Nevaeh: We're talking Broadway show. Yeah. Well, anything you want. Oh, anything you want. Okay. I'll be biased and say I'll watch all five seasons of Stranger Things. Over and over again? Over and over again. Because there's like happy episodes in there too. There's comedy. There's comedy. Yeah. Like there's like season two, season three, like Dustin provides like the comedic relief. And then you've got, you know, the sadder things.

[50:04] Alan Seales: Sadder things, happier things, and stranger things.

[50:05] Gabrielle Nevaeh: All right. Where can we find you online? Where can we connect with you?

[50:14] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Yeah. So you can follow me on all social media platforms at Gabrielle Nevaeh. And Stranger Things, The First Shadow, I will be there. That's right. Eight times a week. Come on. Do you stage door a lot?

[50:23] Gabrielle Nevaeh: I sure do. Good. As much as I can, honestly. Yeah. Even like as tired as you're getting, like you still do the stage door?

[50:29] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Well, so by the time the play's over, I have a lot of energy. I'm awake. How could you not be? I've been like running around screaming all day. So yeah, I stage door most of the time, honestly.

[50:34] Alan Seales: All right. Yeah. So see you there. All right. Well, wherever you are listening now, leave a rating, leave a review. I'm online on theater underscore podcast. Special thanks to welcome to timesquare.com for this lovely studio we are in. Thanks to Jukebox the Ghost for the intro and outro music. And Gabrielle, thank you so much. It's been so much fun.

[51:00] Gabrielle Nevaeh: Thanks for having me. Good to see you.