Video: Krystal Joy Brown Is Getting All Gussied Up for MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge

The most anticipated Broadway revival this fall is Stephen Sondheim and George Firth's

musical Merrily We Roll Along. Following a critically acclaimed sold-out run last fall at New York Theater Workshop

it will open here at the Hudson Theater on October 10th with a stellar cast

including Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and my guest, Crystal Joy Brown

I am thrilled to be sitting with you here at the Hudson in the ambassador lounge, right

It's the most gorgeous lounge in all of Broadway by far. Yeah. Now, are you in tech

Yes, I'm in tech, and that means we're doing 10 hours a day

Our crew is doing way more than that, like 12, I think sometimes 14 hours

And we are doing every little technical piece of this show, I like to call this show a big little show

Everyone thinks it's small and intimate, but it is so many things. We have so many props, so many costumes

The show runs 20 years, so we have to have a bunch of different wigs

and everybody has to change. So it's a lot of technical stuff, and everyone's working extremely hard right now

Yeah, you're about to return to Broadway and Merylady Roll Along here. Yeah

I'm so, so excited. I love this cast and crew so much

And this whole, the story of this, this, these friends and of New York and being an artist is so compelling to me

I mean, it's my, my life as well. Like, playing Dusty Carnegie. She's someone who is a Broadway star and has had to really work and fight for what she has

And I just resonate with her. And I resonate with every single one of the characters

It's very easy to. So it's surreal to be back and in back like this

and with these incredible people, but I am so ready to be here

Yeah. Well, take me back to the beginning. When were you first aware of this musical

Oh my gosh. Okay, so when I was in college, you know, not a day goes by is just an epic song

that everybody loves. And so I would hear it all the time, but I never sang it, and I didn't really know the show

And so one time I'm seeing like something, maybe it was Broadway World posting

saying, like, Daniel Radcliffe is going to be in Merely Re Rule Along, and I was like, I was in Hamilton

and I love playing Eliza. And I was like, I told my agents, I said, something like this

I was like, I don't know the show, but I sent it. I screen shot it and I sent it

I was like, something along these lines is like what I want to be in, like to that caliber

And then months later, I get the audition. And I'm filming though in South Carolina

And so I send a self-tape. And self-tapes for musical theater are hard

They're just, you know, it's hard when you, the live theater is so tactile

You have to kind of be there. to feel the energy, you have to feel like the presence of people

And so I sent a tape, they liked it, then I sent another tape and they liked it as well

But when I, the main thing for me was when I read the script and I read the sides, it was incredible

The writing was incredible. It was complex. It's a really complex storytelling and character development for a musical

And it's like, we go in so deep and we get in deep

And I was just like, whoa. this person I get, you know? So then I, because I wasn't able to be there, I didn't book it

And I was like, all right, you know, I get it, fine, you know

And then that was in May of last year. And then in September, I get a call back

And I was just like, man, whoever they hired must have been great. Because I felt like I killed it

And I was like, this just feels so destined. Like it was just something that felt so destined

And when I read the script and I just cried so many times, and I was like, I feel so connected to this story

And then I got a call in September. And they were like, can you come in again? And I was like, well, I'm physically here

I can come in. And I came in. And it was the first audition where I walked out

and the casting director, Jim Carney, and was like, unless I'm crazy, you booked it

And I was just like, oh my god, OK. And then a month later, I started this journey

Broadway and learning about it, the history of it, in depth, already having like my own personal

relationship with it on my own as I'm trying to like prepare for this audition

And my audition was an hour with Jonathan Groff, by the way. It was an hour long with Maria and Jonathan Groff and some of the producers and they really

wanted to like to see, you know. Chemistry. Yeah, chemistry. Like could we build

Could we play? And there was so much laughing. There was crying in that audition room

And so it just felt like so right and I was just walked out. I was like, I want to be there

I want to be where those people are. Like 100%. And so after that moment, I was just like, and I walked into the space and I was like, this is it

This is exactly where I'm supposed to be. So it all felt very aligned and connected

Okay, take me back to the call when they actually told you, you're going to play her

You got it. Oh my gosh. Crazy enough, I was working on this amazing show that's coming to Broadway, a one of

wonderful world. And with my good, good friend, James Romero, Eglehart, and I was, I looked down

at my phone as we're in like a reading for this. And I looked down on my phone and go, and it's

like my manager's like, I know you're in rehearsal, but we need to talk to you about Merrily

we have great news. And I was like, and I was, I just like stood up. I was like, you guys, I'm

sorry, I have to go, I have to go outside in the hall for a second. And then I'm just going

out in the hall. And I was just like jumping and crying. And, like, And then, of course, you have, like, so much happiness

And then you have this moment of, like, oh, no, I have to leave my current job

And, like, so that was sticky. But, like, Lynn and everybody who has been so supportive of this move from Hamilton to Marily

But, yeah, I was static. I was, like, you just don't know whatever's next when you're an actor

You never know. Like, you always think the job you're in is the last job you'll ever get

I don't know why we feel that way. It is always the feeling

And so when something else comes, you're always like, whoa, whoa, I get to expand

And being able to do this is like a gift and a half. Like being able to have a career in this industry, to be able to live in New York

to be able to work with these people is like an everyday gratitude gift So it just kind of like mind boggling So when I got the role I was like okay there more

Geez, okay. And then I'm like, okay, now I've got to step it up

because these are some of the best actors that I've ever experienced. Okay, well let's go back down to downtown. Yeah

That was so magical to see as an audience member. Yeah. How magical was it for you to do it down there

and to work with this incredible company there first? What are some of your favorite memories of doing the show downtown

New York Theater Workshop is one of the most, like, special places in my heart

because that's where Rent was created, really. And Rent is the musical that got me into musical theater

So I was just like, this is hallowed ground. This is sacred territory

And then the space is so tiny. Like, no shade New York Theater Workshop

You're small, and you know it. It's off Broadway. And it takes out, you can't have any ego

You can't have any, like, you can't have any, like, you can't have any, shyness because, you know, you just got to get the show going

And it just kind of makes you, it like throws you into this kind of tight womb

Yeah. That sounds kind of crazy. But like it does. It puts you in this like really intense tight space

This nukely. Yeah, yeah. And so you're, you feel very cozy. You feel very, you know, safe to explore to dig because there's not like a lot of space

We have to be kind of so close to each other. And I think it was the perfect place to start

to start building these bonds and to start connecting on this level

And every single character, and as you watch the show, every single person on that stage has a story that we've all talked about

a through line. Rue has his story, and Meg has her story, and the newscasters, like every single person

has a reason why they're intertwining with Frank's life and how they all met and how this all happened

So there's so much going on, and it was just a great place to build that foundation

I mean, my favorite moments, honestly, were playing banana-gram. with like Dan and Leanna and all these people just in between shows and and just

yeah how tiny it was how much we just got to like kind of scoot around each

other and climb all over each other and we were all just so passionately there to

get the job done and it was devoid of any ego and purely about the fact that we

love theater and love what we do and love that we get to do it all right that goes back to your director who is one of the greatest directors of all time, Maria Friedman

What is it like being in the room with her and like takeaways from that

Oh gosh. Working with Maria has been such an experience for me. She really knows how to get to

the heart of you and she knows how to go deeper and like she'll get you to one level and she'll be

like, okay, we're there. Now we got to go deeper. Now we got to go deeper. And sometimes that's

taking things away, sometimes that's adding things. And she's always looking to connect the story and making it real, because it's like, some

parts of this are musical comedy, some parts of this are extreme, like, drama

So finding that tone is really hard and finding that balance is hard. And so she wants to make sure that everyone feels like a real human and that everyone has multi-dimensions

And that's been her goal. I think you walk in with Maria and you just start crying

You know, there's just something like tender and you're just like, let me tell you my problems

And so it's very, it's been a very intimate relationship with a director as far as like what we're putting into this because the show is intimate, that the director has to be intimately involved

And she is very detail oriented when it's coming to the story and, I mean, everything else

But yeah, she's she's very special. and I think it's been a very unique opportunity to work with her

Well, now let's talk about Broadway because I've seen pictures of like those first days of rehearsal again

Yeah. We all got back together again, could you've been separated, but I know you all stayed in contact

Yeah, oh, absolutely. Banana grams. Yes, banana. Well, funny enough, I was doing something in Vancouver, and at the same time that Jonathan was as well

we ended up saying in the same hotel, which means we were out at the clubs together for the brief time that we had time

And then just keeping in touch with everybody, like texting, seeing how people are

You know, Dan had a baby. So begging for baby pictures and, like, just being like, how are you guys surviving is always essential

And, you know, just seeing how everybody's doing, like, knowing that we're all going to come back

knowing that this entire cast was invited back, was, like, just so warming for us to all feel safe

Like, have a great summer and come back and, like, be rejuvenated and ready to, like, mature

this piece, make this piece even bigger. I love that word, mature this piece

Because you come back. We're different. It's like shining the diamond and it's also a happy year later

Yeah, it is. And a lot of us happen and you get to sit and think about it

I think if I go back to Hamilton or if I went back to Motown or something, it would be different because I'm different

And so those differences, those things that have changed in us are going to be reflected in how we portray these characters

And I definitely have seen those changes in my sense. in myself and in other cast members and how we're approaching our characters for sure. Yeah

So like I said, just sharing the stage with this group, I mean, everybody, but I mean, Daniel

Jonathan, Lindsay, Reg, Katie, everybody. I mean, just what that's like. It's like, the first word that came to me was home. Yeah

Because there's so much just comfort with them and every. Everyone wants you to do your best

Everyone is really looking at you, really pulling you in, really hoping for the best

Like if you've had a bad day, I will get a text from Lindsey or Dan or Jonathan or any of them

and just being like, hey, you did great or hey, like keep it up

So it's really motivating. I think they're amazing and they elevate the piece but they also elevate everyone around them

And so they're really genuine and really, um, really genuine and really, um, um, um, you're really um, um, um

I don't know, really the glue and the bond that keeps us like constantly going further and

further and playing. And it's never like, well, can you not do this so that I can do this? It's

always like, yeah, try it. Like, let's do it. Let's try it. And I'm like, that's the energy I love

I am a yes and kind of person. And so having that, pretty much everybody be that way. And I think

once again that comes back to the director and casting and like creating a team of people that all energetically flowed well And I understand now Maria why you couldn hire me on tape

But that's all right. You loved my energy and it all worked out. So. I love that. I talk to all these stars. Like, oh my God, I have to send these self-tapes

in. And then you're like, do I do it 16 times? Do I do it like, how many times

Only 16? No, well, you don't care. But I mean, do you second guess yourself all the time

You just say, like, the final tape you sent in, were you like, how many takes was it

Oh, gosh. It was enough takes for my reader to be like

you know what, I think it's been three hours, and I think I need to go

And I was like, you know what? Fair. I'm going to choose one of these

And you did. Yes, and I was just like, yeah, but you know, you feel that one

You typically feel the one where you're like, I mean, it's always a gamble. You know, you're just kind of sending these things out

to the ether and you're like, I hope someone watches it. You know? And so, yes, it does take me a long time and you are looking back and you're like, oh, God

that one hair is just, what is it doing? And you do criticize yourself so much more, I think

But it's also kind of nice to have a little bit of control to be like, I know exactly the product

that I'm presenting to people, but it can make a neurotic actor a little bit more neurotic

I'm glad you to send it in. You're cast. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. This is such an iconic score

I love, okay, so I saw this musical, the original production. Oh my gosh

I saw it twice at the album. Okay. With the Alvin, Yel Simon. I mean, this is such a beautiful score

Yeah. I mean, do you have a favorite that someone else does in the show that you don't do

Oh, my God. Yeah. What are some of your favorites in the show? So many. Besides everything

I mean, okay, now you know, it just sticks in my head like glue

Like, that is like, it just repeats itself. That, that song is

gosh, what else do I love? I love Noday Goes By, because it's just heartbreaking

And we've all experienced heartbreak. And I think, like, and we know what it's like when you're going through that

Like, that person is constantly in your head and just constantly in your heart

And you know you can't make that work. And honestly, I really like the transitions

I don't know. I love listening to everybody. We had our sits road the other day. And I was just like, God, everything sounds so good

But, and all the blob stuff. Yeah. All of it. All of it

It's ridiculous. It's funny. It's fun. It, like, makes you think of New York in that quintessential New York, elitist, artist way

Yeah. I love this musical, like I told you. Why do you think over the years this has become such a beloved musical

Oh, it's like a cult classic. Yeah. You know, like when people are like, oh, when that came out, but like people started taking a deeper look

And I think since Sondheim and George Worth constantly were reinvigorating this and constantly, like, putting so much effort into, like, making it better

And this was like, it was also, what is to be said, the most intimate show that Sondheim had ever written, kind of like autobiographical, or biographical, whatever, which one

That's a good word. Yeah. Libraries are a really good word. Yeah. So it's something that was really close and near and dear to his heart

And so I think that because it is about our hopes and dreams

it is about how we grow and where we start from and where we go and the people we lose along the way

and the choices we make, like everybody can identify with that. And I think that what they've said is that at Sondheim's home

at every party, the piano would come out and everyone would do merrily from top to bottom and sing it

And I think that energy kind of started to really make it be like, this needs to come back

This needs to come back. So it was always in the zeitgeist. And now, like, after he's passed and Maria was given, you know, soul ability to do this

it has a new special meaning and a new special, like, blessing to do it in this way

Yeah. You know, you have this incredible career on stage, screen, and TV

And I want to go back to the beginning. Was there a defining moment for you when you said, I want to be a performer and try to make a living

at this? Oh, gosh, I was probably like four. I knew really early. As soon as I realized that people

like when I was watching The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast, I was like, when I found out

there were people behind those voices, like behind those images, those cartoons, I was like

there are actually people that do this. And I was like, and that means that they make a living

you know, doing this. I'm from Virginia. So it wasn't something that seemed like it was at all in the

reality of what I could do. But luckily, my family was like, you know, go into the arts. I did

ballet and gymnastics really early on. And I was just, you know, they were sure I was going to

become a lawyer, but I was sure I was going to become an actor slash president, you know

You could play a lawyer? Or a president. Totally. Come on. I could be a president. That's next. Yeah. And so, so I think I kind of

knew really early on, but I think when I started to actually see live theater

My first time coming to New York, I was 13 or 14

I saw Chicago and rent. And I was just blown away. I was just like, oh my God, they live in New York

They're doing this thing. And it's just incredible. And that's when I really knew

And I will also add, I saw, I was a big rent head

I saw, oh gosh, I saw one of the Mimi's at the National Theater

and she, you know, I was waiting to get my program signed

and she took me by the chin and she said, you know, you can be anything you want to be

And she was the Mimi, and Mimi was my first role in the national tour

And so that was like, once again, like another blessing and another, like

I was like, okay, she said I could do it. And sometimes you really do just need someone that looks you in the eyes and says

you can do it. And you did it. I'm doing it. Okay

You also played some incredible roles on stage. Diana Ross in Motown. Who just sang for Beyonce, our queen

Would you love playing her? Oh, God, I love playing. I mean, first of all, I had 20 costumes in that show

12 wigs. Diana is a monster of a role because she's constantly moving

and constantly singing and constantly changing her look. But learning about her was my favorite thing

actually reading her autobiography and learning about her and watching videos of her and interviews I was just like wow wow like how to balance it People are always like how do you have it all you know

And it's like you can and you can't, and watching her be able to balance so much and

like her dreams and being like this really dedicated performer, as much as it was great

for the role, it was just great for me as Crystal just to read and learn about someone who

is still killing the game, who is still doing it. I hope that when I get to her age, that I get the opportunity to be, you know, on stage

in a Bob Mackey-esque dress, you know, gown, and I'm killing it. Yeah

Yeah. Okay. Eliza Hamilton. Yeah. And Lynn Manuel's masterpiece Hamilton. Yeah. So I've spoken to every, I've talked to so many people who have been in Hamilton

And we started to talk about the white room. It always comes up the white room

Yeah. Now, people who don't know what the white room is, if you go up on dialogue or lyrics, you go

to the White Room. Now, Hamilton never stops. Yeah, no. It's that turntable, and it's like

you go and you go and you go. And you can become musical theater roadkill, is what I call it

You just, it's going to keep going, and you got to figure out of it. Did that ever happen

to you while you were in Hamilton? Oh, absolutely. It happened to me. But I did not

okay, like, James would be like, Yuba da-da-da-da-da-da-da-fra France. Okay? Like, I never did that, okay

I would be like, I would just flip verses or choruses. And so I'd be like, oh, you kept going

Oh, I kept going. That's my one good thing is that people will be like, did they change the words

I don't know, they tried it out, but they said, go back to the original. And I just, yeah, I will like flip things and I'm like, how do I do that riff now that that is not what is in the music at all

I've done that a couple of times, and people will be like, you know, the cast is the worst

You look around and they're just like, they're crying and they're just not helpful at all because they're like, we know

It's your turn. You just did it. Yeah, they're like, so it's definitely happened

And it's really hard when you mess up lyrics that are that perfect because you feel really bad

You're like, oh, such good words. And I just said them wrong

But everybody on planet Earth pretty much knows them. So you can't get away with too too much

And the fans who come to the show over and over love that when someone goes up. Yeah. They love anything that's different

And then I think your picture goes up backstage when you go to the white room, doesn't it? Oh, we don't do that anymore, but I have heard of this

There's no space. Yes, no. all the wall space is taken up in Hamilton

It is their signatures and there's like just everything everywhere. Speaking of wall space, I want to tell you about what I gave Jonathan for his homecoming present

And I got him a poster of Beyonce Renaissance World Tour because we both went to Beyonce

He went four times. I went two times. And we both have like, it's one thing that Jonathan and I really, really connect on is Beyonce

And so I got him. And I wrote, like, welcome to your homecoming

This is your Renaissance. Fabulous. And so that's his first piece of art on the walls

Have you designed your dressing room yet here? So when I was creating this character, because Gussie is an amalgamation of so many people

I think Diane Carroll, Eartha Kit, Diana Ross, a little bit of Maryland, a little bit of Lucille Ball

I'm making these pictures that will go all over the wall of those iconic images of these women who I've been kind of

pulling from to create this character. Nice. Yes, very like, you know, from the 50s through the 70s, as we do

Okay, because we have a new series at Broadway World called Broadway Cribs

Oh. And a lot of people are doing it. So I hope that when you do your dressing room, we can come back here, you will take us through

Oh, it's going to be just the icons you're putting in there. I know you have to go, you know, almost, it's almost tech time

But I want to, you know, we fell in love with this show downtown. I was very honored to have been able to see this at New York Theater Workshop

and now a whole other amount of people are going to be able to see this here on Broadway

if they can peg bar or steal a seat to this show. Yeah. But, I mean, what that means to for people

to be able to see this show and what's made this so special for you

with being a part of Merrily? Oh, my gosh. Well, one of the things is, like

I'm the first ever Black Gussie ever in any production that has happened

in, you know, any major telling. So that is a huge responsibility

and a huge opportunity. I always, with everything I do, I want to bring more people of color to the theater

And also for them to see themselves and to feel like this is a space for all of us. Because I think that's what Rent did for me

It opened up the ability to see, okay, like there is space for me

And that means so, so much to me. We are going to have lotteries

So there are going to be ways for you to come see the show that don't cost an arm and a leg

or Beyonce ticket price. But it's important to me at this moment, especially

to be representation and to be also a beacon of light of being like, look, these traditionally

non-ethnic roles are open and people are people and we're going through the same kind of

things and we're going through the same human emotions on different scales at different times

But my goal and job is to bring humanity to any role and have all types of audiences see

that humanity. and also then invite more people in. So that's always my goal

Invite more people in and let them see humanity on all kinds of skin tones

Yeah. Your first performance is right around the corner on Broadway. Like days away, like two days away

How incredible is that going to be for all of you? Oh my gosh. I'm excited that it's an invited dress

because it'll be very loving and they'll be very forgiving for anything that doesn't go exactly right

It's going to go perfect. Of course. Of course. It's Broadway. It's going to be amazing because I think we're just so ready to get out there and do it again

And it's going to be emotional. And Jonathan cries a lot. He is the most fluid person

He has more fluids in his body than anyone. And so he will cry at the downbeat

And just it will be a fluid type of show. But it's going to be emotional for all of us because it's been a journey

It's been now a year that we've all been kind of sitting in this and growing in this

and we've been through so much together. And it'll be the culmination of something that we've built that's really, really special to all of us

Yeah. I cannot wait. We will be there every step of the way. It's so great to catch up with you

You too. It's always amazing to see you in the Broadway world and see you walking down the street because I see you all over my neighborhood

Have the best time. I'll see you opening night. Thank you guys. Come to the theater