I've waited my whole life to be seen as a salty, middle-aged woman, and it's the greatest privilege to get to play one so frequently these days.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

The day that we shot all the promotions, This is my first time meeting the cast.

And then I have to jump right in as, like, Here I am, I'm Ruth now.

We were in our costumes for something like six hours, dancing around, you know, trying to maintain a party atmosphere.

But it was so easy with everyone because we were just having a ball.

That set the precedent for everything, because first day of rehearsal was more like getting together with old friends.

What?

Stop it.

Get out!

(group laughter) Yeah.

I went the wrong way.

Thank you.

This is my very first full company rehearsal for my very first Broadway show, where I'm helping create a new vision of a classic story.

This is my favorite thing to do as an actor.

I have my headphones in because basically, I'm always noise-canceling.

Because if you don't, you hear the odd slur thrown at you.

Hi.

Hi.

How are you?

Have a great day.

See, that's the stuff I'd miss if I had the noise cancellation on.

Whoa!

So important to be on time to rehearsal.

It is so important to be on time to rehearsal.

Honestly, I'm just thinking about being late.

I'm such a freakin Virgo.

I hate myself so much right now.

Haha.

But I'm very excited.

The first day of rehearsal is generally pretty gentle.

You kind of do a read through.

Next thing I know, we're dancing.

Like on first day of rehearsal, we're like, Whack ti ti ka Ka ti ti ka So glad you'll be Be be be be be be C!

C C C C C C Sharp!

Too bad he'll be a pirate!

Pirate!

We are at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, which is the lower level of the West Bank cafe.

This is a very storied cabaret space, and it's where me and Major Scales first ran our Off Broadway production of The Vaudevillians.

Some of my best friendships started in this room or in that bathroom.

That was also my dressing room.

Having a connection with a space like that is interesting because it's like visiting a relative, you know?

Oh.

Oh, you look great.

I'd rather be rehearsing.

This is my second time having my own dressing room.

And this is the first time that I'm here long enough that I can justify really settling in.

I love transforming the space.

I call it To Wong Fooing the space.

Everyone, like who's come and seen my dressing room?

It's like, this is a great place.

It's got a great vibe.

How did you do this so fast?

Because, like, you know, day three it was set up this way, and I realized I've just been planning what this room would look like my whole life.

You know, like, I always knew I wanted scarves everywhere, and I always knew I wanted cause, like, this is my favorite thing when I'm done with my makeup.

This is the vibe in here.

Every other dressing room.

Ugh!

Ugh!

This is a great way to help recoup the damage.

It was first the neti pot, then it was something that shoots it up one nostril and it comes back down.

And now it's this.

This is like this does that.

It shoots it up one nostril, but then sucks out from the other nostril.

It's like I'm 20 years old again.

I've got the vocal stamina of a young Mormon.

I've had nerves, definitely, when we started bringing the audience in.

Mainly because I'm used to working fast.

Normally because we can't afford to work slow.

Comedy is a science, and we're getting to experiment and see which ingredients yield better results.

It's been a really big luxury.

Wait!

I just remembered something that will throw all our lives into a state of upheaval.

I had concerns with the current political climate that me being a trans feminine actress, playing the role of Ruth.

I was worried for how people would grasp at interpreting it wrong.

We channeled everything of who I am into what's appropriate for Ruth in our retelling of Pirates, and what I think we accomplished was taking this kind of tropey, archetypal character and grounding her in what's true for her in this story and what her strange circumstances mean for her femininity in the context of the 1880s.

This means I can't marry Mabel until the year 1948, and by then Mabel will be 85.

An octogenarian.

Whereas I'm much younger than that.

And that's all you need.

Like, I feel like you.

You learn everything you need to know about Ruth, and by the end of the show, you're really happy you got to know her.

Do you want to say Hi to PBS?

PBS.

Yes.

Yeah.

I thought you would, Hi, PBS!

Yeah.

I thought you would, It's DHP.

It's DHP.

Are they coming to fight call?

No, they're not allowed.

Oh, (Both laugh maniacally) Being on Broadway has been this incredible affirmation of everything I've worked towards in my life, as a human being, and in my work as an artist.

As a kid it wasn't just that I dreamed about being on Broadway.

I dreamed about being a leading lady on Broadway.

But I was willing to accept less, right?

And then there became a point where I was like, why?

Why can't anyone find a way to be who they are and do what they love?

It was very affirming for me and the thing that keeps it feeling special is when I do the stage door and there's young trans people who whisper in my ear that they feel like it's possible for them now.

There were moments that ignited that in me, and I know how powerful that was.

And the fact that I get to do that for other people just by pursuing my dream, It's this beautiful thing that just keeps giving.

It's opening day.

We're heading to the theater.

It's 11am.

The show's at 8pm.

So naturally, we're going 13 hours early.

The ghost light.

Woooooo.

Hello, everyone.

You're joining us now at what's called a press junket.

This is where we all get dolled up, you know, whore out the show.

What?

That's what we do.

I wish I could forget that it was opening day.

We got to just do the show.

No more.

Absolutely no less.

Let's just get out there and do the show that we rehearsed for two months, and then we'll be fine.

And this group, I feel like that's all we're we're that's what we're going to.

We're just going to go Wanna do the show?

That's that.

We opened our show on Broadway, and that's all it took was just two months of intense work.

I'm on cloud nine, so thank you, PBS, for joining me.

Stalking me really.

And I'm sorry for running late.

(Laughs) And that day, we shot the promo.

I'm feeling like I wore the wrong shoes.

That's taking me too long to get there.

But I'm so glad you'll take the blame.

And I haven't seen the whole cast since our promo shoot.

And it's a really lovely group of people across the country.

This morning.

For next, as more and more and more and more rehearsal, which is lovely, it's like playing Dungeons and Dragons with the best actors in America, right?

They've been vetted and it's like, these are some of the best actors and now go play, make believe with them all day.

That's a lot of fun.

Who needs boots?

The getting dressed up and talking about how great I am is my least favorite part of the job, but it's also like, what?

What could I be complaining like?

It's a room full of people who want to talk about how cool this is.

You come into my room and it's like a.

It's like a train car.

You know what I mean?

Like it's.

That's my thought.

William is a celebrity hairstylist, but I knew him when.

It's very dark.

I was.

And there's a temptation on opening night to go so big and so hard.

Because you want to show off.

Just a few short months after I, debuted at Carnegie Hall.

Also, my family's here, and I have to go keep an eye on them to make sure they're on their best behavior, so.

Thank you.