Cole Escola

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0:34Switch today at visible.com. Plans start at$25 a month or get the premium Visible Plus Pro plan and save$10 on your first month with promo code HANG. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Very excited that we have our guest today, Cole Escola. Cole is an incredible performer. They wrote an original play, Oh Mary, which was a huge hit on Broadway and which gave them the Tony Award. And we're going to talk to them about a lot of things today, about struggling in New York City. We're going to talk about their love for Martha Stewart.

1:12And we're going to talk about what are they filling their days and nights with now that they've stepped away from their very famous play, which is still going on, by the way, and which depicts a very insane Mary Todd Lincoln with zero research. Highly recommend. Before we get started, though, we are going to check in with someone who knows Cole, who has a question for them. And that person is comedy legend, incredible performer, and just the funniest lady around, Amy Sedaris. Amy, this is Amy. This episode of Good Hang is presented by Walmart School Supplies. We all remember getting them. I remember Trapper Keepers and so many colored pens, but now I'm sure there's a million more things to get.

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2:34well first of all hi thank you for doing this i'm sure happy to be doing this we're talking to cola scola today and your relationship with them is runs really deep and it's very special And I think a lot of people were very, very excited that they won the Tony and very excited to hear your name. I was just as surprised. Yeah, that was so sweet of Cole to mention my name. Maybe because they owe me$5 ,000. I don't know. Do you think now where you are in life you could do O'Mary? Me? Well, I was going to say, why aren't you? You should do O'Meara. I don't know if I have the energy anymore for that schedule.

3:23I don't think I could do it, you know, eight days a week. I mean, I'd like to for you lose weight, you get muscle. I mean, that aspect, live audience. But man, that's a brutal schedule. That's for a young person. I was just at someone's pool the other day and a little kid challenged us to all jump in at the same time. And my ears are still ringing. and it's just from jumping in a pool. Yeah. Jumping in a pool. I woke up this morning. I was like, oh, I have like a swimmer's ear. Everything hurts. And all I did was just gently jump into a pool. What did I do? What did I do? And then you're like, oh, wait a minute.

4:04Yeah. I know. I was thinking about you because I was thinking, I'm sure Cole would love for you to do O'Mary and you would be perfect in it. But I know that the schedule is wild. It's too wild. And the whole point would be to work with Cole. You know, I work really well with them. And that's fun, too, to discover that. We work really well together. I know. So tell me about it. I mean, I know a lot of people saw them play Chazzy on your show. So how did you start working together? I saw Cole Orange Juice commercial on YouTube. And then I worked with Cole on your show on Difficult People. And then I was just looking for a good neighbor.

4:46And I was like, it didn't matter, male, female. It's got to be this person. It's got to be Cole. And, you know, always came in prepared. Always came in with lines in their back pocket. Everyone loved Cole on set. It makes perfect sense that you two love to work together and, you know, we're drawn to each other like magnets. Because I think the same thing about you, Amy. Like, you're such a real artist and such a genuine. Where are you going? For listeners, Amy just leaned really close into the camera. Got really like a moth to a flame. Ping, ping. Nipples. I guess it'd be ping, ping down. There's never been anything self, in my opinion about you, never been anything that feels self-conscious or even kind of aware of what's kind of expected of you.

5:37And Cole is the same way. And because of it, your art feels so specific and satisfying and unique. Um, and that's nice of you to say, is that why I'm not working? Yeah.

5:53So you've never done a Broadway show? Uh, no, that's nuts. I've never done Broadway. Off Broadway I've done, but have you? No, no. Okay. Well, sounds like we got to do something. Oh, that would be fun. Write something for us. Let's write something where it's just, it's a 45 minute show. and starts at 6 p.m. and we sit down the whole time. In wheelchairs. Yeah, I'd watch that. Grab bars, speed rails, wheelchairs. So we've been asking people who know our guests, who are fans of our guests, to give me a question to ask them. I mean, my joke question's always, if you could have anyone over it in or dead or alive, what would you serve?

6:35Because then you could judge a person on what you would make for these people. But, and also, and I get interviewed a lot they'll ask like, what do we not know about you? And that's kind of hard because one thing about Cole that I really admire and also about young people is they're so, you know, they'll tell you anything. You know, you ask them a question, they're so honest and open about it. You're like, oh my God, isn't that private? Or, you know, like what, well, what don't we know about you since you've been telling your whole life story? So that might, for me, it's, I have high blood pressure, not high blood pressure, cholesterol.

7:05People would be surprised to know that about me. I always say Cole's an old soul young spirit I have that the joke question and the lesson oh I was curious after all this entire journey like if Cole had to write a memoir right now like what would the name of it be like this is a huge success story don't you think that is such a great question for people who are wannabe performers this story of O'Mary, the story of the show that Cole wrote, starred in, and then won the Tony is what is the best version of writing something for yourself. Yes. Success story. Yeah. Success story. I wonder if there's going to be a movie.

7:57If it would be really, who would be good in the O'Mary movie? It would be like, I say get Linda Hunt in there somewhere. Linda. I want more Linda Hahn. Well, I'm so fascinated by what's behind you in your apartment because you have the best taste. Well, I'm doing a photo shoot in here today. Okay. That's my new miniature dollhouse that I decided to have built into my fireplace because I have a lot of miniatures. And so I just put that together last night. What's your favorite miniature in that behind you there? Wheelchair. The wheelchair. It's well-made. It's handmade. it's beautiful crutches you know that they don't make anymore homemade handmade umbrellas out of toothpicks yeah I have a really nice collection bearskin rug

8:46those are the only things you'd grab if there was a fire that's it yes you're right thanks Amy thanks for your time thanks so much great to see you bye this episode is brought to you by Visible some searches lead to answers. Others lead to niche conspiracy theories about pigeons. Thankfully, Visible is the wireless that keeps up so you can follow the weird wherever it goes. Get one-line wireless with unlimited data, talk, and text for$25 a month, taxes and fees included. Plus, Visible runs on Verizon's 5G network so you get great coverage and a reliable connection without the premium cost. Ready for wireless that lets you live in the know?

9:25Make the switch at visible.com. One line wireless starting at$25 a month. Terms apply. See visible.com for planned features and network management details. Cole, I'm so happy you're here, but I haven't seen you. I've obviously seen you on stage and I've seen you on TV and I've seen you everywhere, but I haven't seen you in person in a minute. How is it feeling having just finished your run? I know we're just catching you. It feels insane. We kind of joke sometimes here, about like how we always talk about like hard work and acting is work and hard work. And in many ways, it's not that hard. This is not that hard.

10:04No. But what you do is very hard. Eight shows a week is really like, I used to think like, well, you have your days free. Totally. Like, oh, come on. But I will never think that way about Broadway people or theater people. ever again. It is the hardest job. So hard. So hard. And the hardest part of your day is at the end of your day. So it's like you can't even enjoy your day. Well, but I slept, I go to sleep at like 5 a.m. Okay. Talk to me about your sleep. Okay. So I love talking about sleep. I'm kind of weird. I'm like one of those quirky kind of people. No, I mean, I do the show. I'm like vibrating, hyper I eat after the show I have acid reflux so I need to wait at least three hours which one's mine is this mine is this mine is this mine yeah I just realized that I have that too but I didn't really know what to call it but it was like oh and I would be performing burning in my throat I hate that pass the marinara please yeah yeah yeah so what did you have post show was it a similar meal or different it was you know not a lot's open at like 10 p.m.

11:24so it was either Indian food which is great for acid reflux because it's very mild you know just some spicy cream sauces Amy Sedaris always says hot creamy meal straight to bed so yeah that or like a bowl like just slop and the most chaotic bowl just like adding ingredients not considering what they will add up to just being like I like oranges so you get your bowl or your food you eat and then you would then stay up till 5 in the morning just like basically being on your phone looking at TV watching YouTube videos Marco Poloing my friends do you use Marco Polo? Yes, I love Marco Polo. It's the best.

12:21I thought that it was a Gen X thing, but millennials like Marco Polo? Millennials are dipping their toes into Marco Polo. Gen Z could not be more. They're embarrassed. They're embarrassed and Gen Alpha don't have phones. They're like, you're sick. Their phones are in their heads. Yeah, exactly. They're implanted in their heads. Yeah. But I am like kind of obsessed with the fact that you have this open spaces, like you're a wide open space now. Yeah. What are you going to do? To be honest, I was really like, I got good hang on Monday. I'll just, that's my next, I'll get there and then we'll figure it out.

12:57So there's a part of you that like wants that structure and you're going to have to figure out how to structure. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sort of, you know, like when you get off of a boat, for those of you that own boats. All my audience. Like we do. Everyone. Everyone that's staying owns a boat. You know, when you get off your boat. Yeah. or one of your boats when you get off your biggest boat yeah and you you're like you're wobbly you're sea legs that's how I feel I used to say that about SNL like leaving SNL was like a train pulling away yeah yeah yeah yeah and you kind of got all the gravel kicked up and it sped away and you could kind of hear the chatter and the laughter and also you were kind of like like glad you weren't on the train yes both those things yeah because for people who don't know O'Mary is continuing on without you.

13:45Yes. Titus Burgess starts tonight. Wow. Again. Yeah. Right. He did it for three weeks and now he's back for six. And then after that? Jinx Monsoon. And then after that? You haven't announced yet. We don't even know yet. So what is it like to create a character? Good. Yeah. Great. But I mean how do you pick who's going to do it? And I'm sure you're at a point now where people are emailing you and saying, I would like to do it. Which must be interesting. I bet you're thinking about people who want to do it. What is that process like? How are you doing it? You know, the first, it really started after the first replacement, which was Betty Gilpin, who took this part and this job so seriously, like trained for it.

14:39And I think people weren't lining up to take over the role yet because they wanted to sort of see how it would go if someone else did it. And she was brave enough to be like, no, I know this would be the role of a lifetime for me, so I want to jump at it. And she was incredible. Yeah. And it felt like really validating to watch, I don't know, someone love the part. Well, you're playing a version of Mary Todd Lincoln based on no research. And it's this tour de force. That part allows whoever is playing it to like swing for the fences. Yeah. Yeah. And it's what I love, if I may, what I love so much about it and loved, and I saw you, only you in it, and I can't wait to see more people in it.

15:34But what I loved about it is it was like this place where you could go really, really big, but it was very, very moving. Oh, thanks. Really moving. Thank you. It's hard to do both of those things. Thank you. I think you do those things, both of those things really well together. Thanks. I, yeah, I, I, that was my goal was like to, like, I even wrote it on my dressing room mirror. Like, can you love me if I'm annoying? Oh, that's good. Yeah. Can you root for someone who's annoying? That's what I wanted. Because, you know. Yeah. I'm sure you feel this way too. Like, I'm annoying, you know, I'm too much.

16:17Yes. Yeah. that is in fact a friend of mine has a a game where she says boring or annoying so you categorize people into boring or annoying both are no one wants to be either no one wants to be either but that's a good one but give me annoying over boring absolutely any day yeah give me someone who tries too hard of course yeah absolutely and I'm I'm in the annoying camp and me too so what I'm hearing is because the show has ended this is like an existential nightmare for you yes yeah got it yeah it would be for me too it would be like it's just like what do I do with my day what is my life and you've hit you hit the peak you got the Tony like there's nowhere to go but down babe I know truly down or like across like leave the business across yeah across like just jump in a river and you know yeah you're just gonna work with animals change my name yeah don't bring my phone like burn my fingerprints off did you feel i hope you felt this way but i i know collectively people that were watching you win were really angry they were yeah i mean did you there was writing i yeah i saw it was like when the eagles won the what sorry that's for the for the guys for the dads, for the dads who listen.

17:41No, but you, but you, when you won, it felt like people, it felt like you were carrying the hopes and dreams of a lot of people. Okay, well. Did you feel that pressure at all? Not pressure. I felt like the best part of the whole experience was like people that I used, that I have been performing with for like 15 years that like Joe's Pub or The Duplex or like, or people that came to see the shows like so happy for me. Like that was the best feeling. Like I scored a goal for the team. Yeah, everyone felt invested in it because they felt like they were part of it and they saw it when it was smaller and then getting bigger and growing and it felt like this like, you know, it was a rare combination, your show, O'Mary, of feeling indie and small and private and just for you and the entire Broadway community and the entire country coming and feeling the same way too.

18:41It was a wild combo of both those things. The whole country came. We looked at the numbers. You looked at the numbers? Yeah. Wow. There was like four— Even like South Dakota? Yeah, there were four people in South Dakota who like— Said they were going to come. Yeah, and they still might. They still might, but yeah, now it's time to go away, I think. Okay. Yeah. Take a little break. Oh, like if I'm sick of me, I can only imagine how my friends feel. I know that nobody actually knows who I am, but the people who do, they've had a lot of me this past year. But I got to say, you have handled it pitch perfect, Cole.

19:22Like you've been so funny, like super funny, like self-deprecating, but not like falsely modest. you've been in like it really feels like you've been feeling the most oh my god now you're ruining it to work with people that you respect and like this is my job I get to play I get to play I get to come here and this is my work like who am I to complain I'm so lucky I'm so lucky like I don't even remember who got nominated like the award is not the thing no and we were like we were all rooting for each other yeah I mean the best part has been getting to know people I actually hate when they called my name my heart broke I thought George Clooney like my friend my friend George now he's going to Lake Como without this trophy and that's like And I get to have it, so I sent it to him.

20:30I sent it. I did. You did. I did. And you sent it from the heart. I sent it from the heart. Or I sent him a picture of it. Yeah, yeah. With my finger, yeah. Yeah, you're not going to give him the riddle. No, no, no, no. No, he doesn't deserve it. He has too many. And you ran up there famously. You really hustled up there. Why? They tell you you have 90 seconds from when they call your name to the end of the speech. It's so crazy. So I was like, I want to talk for as long as possible. That's my— That was your goal. That's always been my goal. Like when I was a kid and they would ask like, oh, what song do you want to sing?

21:08I would sing The 12 Days of Christmas because it was the longest song that I knew. And still the longest song. But so I was just like, well, I want to be able to thank everyone that I had in my head because I didn't write anything down stupidly. Such a good speech. Such a good speech. But I left so many people out. But that's okay because what you did is, like, I think you learn a lot about somebody when they give a speech because to your point, you were aware of the time. Yeah. You were trying to use it to your advantage. Yeah. It's shocking to me how many people get up there and they go like, anyway.

21:45Yeah. And you're like, time is ticking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't believe you are taking so much time. Also, that thing that I think it was on this podcast that Tina said to you about like that Steve Martin said. So this is like you got to kill every time. Yes. It's like I do feel that. Yes. Yeah. You have to be funny and you have to be gracious. But you have to be like you have to produce that moment. Yeah. Yeah. And you produced it really well. Thanks. I played a good game and we just feel really good about where we're at right now. Numbers wise. just gotta stay in it and hope for the best now I heard this straight character you did on Colbert do you have a straight woman my age voice?

22:29your age? no just older like a boomer woman? yeah like my mother what is that kind of character? well I'm a little bit hoarse so my voice is a little lower than I'd like it, but we were going to go up Saturday and just see what Tracy and them were going to cook and just sort of just nothing. For people who can't see Cole is touching their head a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're right, just a little aggrieved. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And a tiny, like a tiny headache. Yeah, tiny headache just thinking about, just like talking. That's my favorite. I mean, when I was growing up, just hearing small talk between women at the store was my just heaven.

23:29Well, you were raised primarily by women. Yeah, by my mother and my grandmother. And I loved my grandmother's friends and, you know, complaining about health issues. Okay, but you grew up in Oregon. Thanks. And that's not—I'm not trying to make you feel bad. No, you grew up in Oregon. You got into community theater. You made your way to New York. Yeah. What was, like, the first—like, can you just paint a picture of when you first arrived in New York City? How old? 18. Yeah. I mean, fresh from my hometown. And then the first place I lived was the 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side. Now imagine an 18-year-old little gay kid coming to New York City, and that is their first impression of New York, the Upper East Side, thinking like, wow, I can't wait to have fun.

24:30Old men. Oh, wow. These restaurants close at 6 p.m. This is amazing. Yeah. And why did you end up over there? I went to—we can bleep the name of the school out. Okay. Boop! For one year, one calendar year, and their dorms were at the— And why did you drop out of college? Couldn't afford it. Like, I couldn't even afford to take out any more loans. Was that stressful? Were you thinking like, this is a nightmare that I can't be happy? No, no, no. I was heartbroken. I was like, I didn't know how I was going to get back to New York because I sort of figured this out. The first summer I came back home, I was working at a church camp with my brother, mowing lawns, digging post holes, washing dishes.

25:22and then I found out like they're not going to give you any more loans because you don't have unless you have a guarantor and all the adults in my life were poor and I hated them for that I was like it was so juvenile to be like well maybe if you'd make better life choices mom I could live out my dreams and now I'm like thank God I don't have student loans yes I don't have student loans because I couldn't afford to go to school I mean rejection is God's protection thank you I love when you came up with that I always say that I came up with that I remember when you came up with that what did you do though in 19 then you just worked hard yeah I went I worked at the Scholastic bookstore playing Clifford the Big Red Dog wow and I mean I worked at the cash register as well but that was I really came alive when I played Clifford you know and you were living with who then like renting a room from someone renting a room in a railroad apartment where a complete stranger had to walk through my room to get to his bedroom and often like I had like one season of Sex and the City on DVD and he would always I was always missing one disc and then it would appear back the next day and then it would disappear here and he took it he took it it was a straight guy and he was like jerking off to it oh because of the sex scenes episodes and this was like i mean this was what year 2008 so porn was available online yeah he could have but but there was just something about kim cattrall i guess yeah probably that hey hey hey i get it hey i get it we both do we both get it um when did you first get paid to be an actor?

27:19I mean, other than Clifford, but... Well, but my first paying job was when I was 11. Really? I was in, like, a regional production of The Grapes of Wrath. I made$50. Total? Total. Okay. Yeah. I played Winfield Jode. Okay. My lines were, Ma! Ma! Look! Over there! Great. Yeah. that's$50 but I did come up with um um I've said this already to Mo Rocca I'm sorry for those of you oh god then we're gonna cut it if you've already put it on Rocca but I think you'll appreciate this at 11 I came up with there's a scene where everyone's like saying grace over food and I came up with stage business of like opening my eye and stealing a piece of food Oh, my God.

28:14Yeah. I have a similar story, which is when I was about that age, 10 or 11, I was Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Uh-huh. And I have to— Great comedic part, by the way. Hilarious. Hilarious. So many laughs. And because it was the 80s, they just gave us a real dog. They were like, hold this real dog. You know, it was just someone's dog. And I had the dog the whole day, and no one fed it. And I would never do that now. But someone just gave us a dog. I was 10. and there's a moment where Dorothy says like, where the tornado starts and Dorothy says, Toto, Toto, where are you? Yeah. And in the first show, I was holding Toto and I got a laugh, but not the kind I wanted.

28:54Right, right. They were laughing at me. Yeah. And you clocked that right away. I clocked it. Yeah. So in the second show, I put the dog down and I walked a few feet away from me and then I said, Toto, Toto, where are you? Everyone was like, now that's clever. and it was like a star is born yeah it's so true that that feeling when you're like wait i can do something else yeah the mischief part yeah yeah well did you feel like uh was there ever a time where you were like well i don't want to be an actor because it's not fun because the The way I felt was like, oh, being a performer means, you know, acting school and doing our town.

29:38And I was like, I don't think that's for me. So I guess I don't want to perform. I think, yeah, I didn't know anyone who was an actor. Like, I didn't think it was a job that I could do. But I think even from a very early age, I was like, whatever I want to do, I want to be in control. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, like, I wasn't good at auditions. Yeah, same. Because it was like, I don't know if you don't. No, whenever I get sides, I'm like, oh, you know who should get this? Exactly. God. And I call my manager and I'm like, are they seeing Gideon for this? How about Taylor Trench? Because he would nail this.

30:20and also as a writer I feel like I don't I need to know I need to really trust the writer or like feel like I really understand the writer because I think so much of acting you have to be a little delusional and be like oh yeah I know how to do this yeah I know what they're going for when I read a script I'm like oh I'd love to sit down with the writer and why is she saying this? Yeah. I know. You just have to kind of overcome insecurity and just assume that everyone is supposed to be looking at you. I actually know how to do this more than the writer knows. Yeah. I struggle with it all the time about like working for other.

31:06We've all witnessed that. We've watched you on sets sort of flounder. We're all just on the, oh, come on, girl. Come on, come on. get those lines out that would be a great scene where you're acting and you pan to the other side of the monitor and everyone's like girl sweating sweating you're like you can do it girl yeah

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