‘I hope that they leave feeling lighter than they did walking in’
After winning Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score, Schmigadoon! continues to delight audiences on Broadway. The show, adapted from the television series of the same name, follows Melissa Gimble (Sara Chase) and Josh Skinner (Alex Brightman), who find themselves trapped inside a musical town. With a book, music, and lyrics by Cinco Paul, the show both pokes fun at and pays tribute to musicals of the 1940s and 50s.
Recently, I had the chance to speak with Isabelle McCalla, who plays schoolmarm Emma Tate in Schmigadoon!. We discussed her entry into the world of theatre through dance, what it has been like performing in Schmigadoon! in both D.C. and on Broadway, and what she hopes audiences take away from the show.
How did you first get started in the world of theatre?
My parents were both professional ballroom dancers, and they couldn’t afford childcare, so I was often at the dance studio with them or at ballroom competitions. I was surrounded by dancers, and I would spend hours filling up plastic cups full of rhinestones from the dancers’ dresses at competitions. So I was always enamoured with the arts in general, but dance was my gateway. And then when I was five, my mom took me to my first Broadway show, Cats, and I was so taken with it that I asked my mom immediately to purchase the pro shot because it had just come out at the time on VHS – I’m that old! I watched it every day for a year, and would pretend to be a different cat. I was so obsessed. That’s when I got the bug.
So you came at it from more of a dance background, then!
I did! My mom put me in dance class when I was eight years old for discipline, but she wanted me to be a nuclear physicist. In her mind, there was no way to actually pursue it [dance]. Funnily enough, my mother did go to school for acting and did one off-Broadway play. [She] just didn’t have the stomach for rejection and what it takes to put yourself out there constantly. She had a choice between going to a callback or going to a competition with my dad, and so she chose ballroom. She says she never regretted it, and I don’t think she does. But I think she always does wonder what if, because based on the way we’ve talked about it and the little things I’ve seen of her, she was a very gifted actor. And my brother’s an actor too, so we both definitely inherited that part from her! But dance was my gateway in. It was the foundation for my training, and it’s what got me into college.
And what made you want to be a part of Schmigadoon!?
Speaking of dance, I got lucky early on that Casey Nicholaw had plucked me from the ensemble and given me the opportunity to be a lead at such a young age. I was 23 when I started Aladdin, so I hadn’t really danced in about ten years. So first, I did a one-day reading back in 2023, and I thought it was a really fun script. I knew that Chris Gattelli was a director, and at that point they were like, “This is a secret project. You don’t know what it is,” And they didn’t tell us it was Schmigadoon until the week before. I definitely had to sign an NDA! But it was a very informal one-day reading of it, and I just wanted to be in the room with Chris Gattelli. And then he saw me in Water for Elephants and loved that show and was like, “Oh, you can dance!” Because I did work on the trapeze. I was like, “Yep!” And then I got the offer to do it in D.C. So for me, I said yes to Schmigadoon! because I could dance again. It gave me the opportunity to dance in a real way, in a way that I only hinted at before. For years, I’ve felt like this secret weapon. I’ve had this in my back pocket, and now I get to use it, which is really special.
Had you seen the television series the show was based on before?
I hadn’t, no!
Have you watched it since?
No. Here’s why! I watched the “With All Your Heart” episode to get an idea of the character, but that was when I did that one-day reading. If I’m playing a character that’s either previously been played or there’s preexisting material on it, a performance of the role that I’m taking on, I try to avoid as much as possible. I believe that the writing is the star of every piece, and that everything I need to know is in the text. And yes, there are beautiful things that I can lovingly steal from other people, but I’d rather see what I can generate on my own. And then, Chris is like, “Oh, Ariana [DeBose] did this great hand thing here,” I’m gonna be like, “Great, I’ll do that.” But things are gonna look different on me than they look on anybody else, so I’m as self-generative as I can be while being inspired by the text. So I haven’t seen it. Sorry, Cinco [Paul]!
What was the rehearsal process like for the show?
Fast and furious! For Broadway, we had two and a half weeks in the studio, which is very fast. Usually, you have four weeks, but the show at that point was already very structurally sound, and two-thirds of our company had done it in D.C. But even that rehearsal process, before we went to D.C., was ten days, so it wasn’t a lot of time! But, to Chris Gattelli’s credit, with comedy, the faster you get it up and move it in front of an audience, the better. Because if you’re sitting in a studio and performing for people who’ve overanalyzed every single line, every word, it’s not funny anymore, and we are no longer reliable audience members. You’ve got to trust the material and inoculate yourself from the lack of laughter until you get an audience, and then you can start making tweaks.
So it was fast and furious, but even though it was very fast, it was so efficient. Part of that is the way that the responsibilities are so evenly dealt out in the show. The principals have their number to do their magic trick, and then little scenes here and there. But for us, it’s not as heavy a lift. The ensemble, on the other hand, is working their asses off! The ensemble’s the star of the show. In my mind, far and away, they are the hardest working. They are on most of the time, and the way they people this world is so specific and funny and heartwarming. I love it. This show would not land without them.
What has it been like returning to the show after the D.C. run?
Fun! I feel like D.C. was the cartoon version, and now we’re the three-dimensional production of it. It was always funny, it was always great, but during previews, Cinco Paul and Chris Gattelli made such smart trims that just gelled everything together in a way that it lands the plane. It has the perfect balance of riotous laughter and immense heart, which is very difficult to do, and difficult to do in a way where we’re not parodying these golden age musicals – we’re celebrating them, and then grounding them in a very real way. I feel like we pull the rug out from under you in Act Two, and a lot of people are crying and don’t expect to be crying in Schmigadoon! – I love that! It got deeper and richer between D.C. and here, so it was really fun to come back. Also, for my nervous system, I’m so happy to be doing a comedy!
You mentioned it a little bit before, but what is it like to have that one major number in Act Two and then go from there?
It’s fun! It’s awesome and great because I get to open up Act Two. I’m very sparsely used in the first act. I have a total of like fifty minutes off stage in the first act, so it’s really chill. My first 25, I’m warming up my voice. My second, I’m warming up my body. Now that I’ve structured my show so that the whole show is revving up to my number, I feel like it doesn’t drive me crazy. I feel busy still. Often, I prefer [that] once you get on the train, you just keep going from start to finish. I find that’s helpful. But, having said that, it’s also nice to take my time, do my number, which is a big splash, and then slowly wind down. That’s what it feels like. I get to hit it hard and then wind down.
Do you have any specific pre-show rituals that you do for the show?
My friend Josh Burrage is in the ensemble. We will warm up in the mezzanine sometimes, and we’ll just chill there and stay till the house is open. That’s fun. I have handshakes with the two boys that play Carson, so I do those handshakes. And then my friend Max Clayton, who plays Danny Bailey, and I, we have a very old inside joke that we say before the show starts. So I have these check-in moments.
And what is it like to originate a role on Broadway, like Emma Tate in Schmigadoon! or Alyssa Greene in The Prom, versus joining the cast of something like Shucked or Aladdin?
It’s very different. I would say, I don’t know if Schmigadoon! falls into this category! I would say more Alyssa and Marlena in Water for Elephants. There, I was the blueprint for it. I was working with writers who were interested in what I had to say, and they trusted that I knew my character, so they would ask questions. So there is a lot more collaboration in terms of direction of where the character goes. If a line’s not working, they’ll be like, “What do you think she would say here?” And then I can give the flavor of what I think it would be, and then they refine it and polish it in a way that is precise and beautiful. But it’s more collaborative, whereas this is somewhere in between. I am making my mark for Broadway, and so much of the writing from the TV show was so spectacular that it translates very well, and there was not much that we had to change. Having said that, it’s the specialness of having an opening night, getting to celebrate, being reviewed, being part of the Tony Awards. All that extra prestige that goes along with that is very fun and the cherry on top.
But then coming in for Shucked or Aladdin, the script’s not changing, right? Everything is set, and you’re just infusing it with your own style. So I would say I still got to put my spin on Jasmine and Maizy, but there was no creative contribution because I wasn’t part of the blueprint. I remember seeing the national tour of The Prom, and watching a choice that somebody made, and I was like, “That’s because I did that in rehearsal one day and Casey liked it, and now it’s part of the direction,” but they might not know why it’s there. When you’re replacing, there’s a removal from the construction of it that can be really freeing. So it’s just not a part of my DNA, whereas I feel very much a part of Alyssa Green’s and Marlena’s DNA.
Do you have a favourite song from Schmigadoon!?
“With All Your Heart” – I would be selfish and say my song’s the best song!
And if you had to choose a second one other than your own?
I love “Melissa’s Epiphany,” which is essentially the “Suddenly” reprise that Sara Chase sings at the end of Act Two. It’s the 11 o’clock number. It’s such a showstopper – it comes out and it’s just so unexpected! And it’s because Sara Chase is one of the most powerful singers, and you don’t get to hear it until that moment. It feels very reminiscent of “People” from Funny Girl, a big Barbra Streisand ballad that is so transformative, and I love it.
What do you hope audiences take away from Schmigadoon!?
I hope that they leave feeling lighter than they did walking in. I hope that they are able to focus on the joyful parts of life and remember that investing in your relationships and community is worth it, because there are things to fight for, even as the world is crumbling around you.
And finally, how would you describe the show in one word?
Whimsical!
Schmigadoon! runs until 3 January 2027 at the Nederlander Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
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