Chris McCarrell and Brennyn Lark are tearing it up in their Broadway debuts as Marius and Eponine in the acclaimed revival of Les Miserables. The cat and mouse friendship/loveship is beyond captivating and then ultimately all the more heartbreaking in their hands. Below BroadwayBox chats with the dynamic duo to get the scoop on their electrifying onstage pairing, their backstage fun and the secret ingredient to becoming McCarLark.
My first impression of my co-star was:
Chris:
the first day of rehearsal when I had some Ariana Grande song stuck in my head. I kept singing it throughout the day and I really didn't know the lyrics but Brennyn climbed right on board. She had the words, the harmony nailed down. And I turned to her and was like, "FINALLY, I HAVE A PARTNER IN CRIME."
Brennyn:
Who are you? I want to be best friends. You're so cool.
I think our most memorable performance so far had to have been:
Chris:
The matinee after the news of Kyle. I thought “Empty Chairs” would be the hardest part of the show but it was actually “Little of Fall of Rain”. We got each other through that entire show.
Brennyn:
It was actually a deep moment I'll never forget. The day we found out Kyle passed and went and did the show. It was during “Little Fall of Rain”, we became increasingly emotional and just let it all out in that moment. Snot, and tears, and all.
My favorite moment onstage with my co-star is:
Chris:
There's certain moments in the show where I catch her "creeping" on stage. Like at the beginning of Act II, we're all getting ready to build the barricade and I look over and there's Brennyn in the upstage shadows just perched, hawkeyes on me. There's a few of those in the show. We've learned that I just cannot look at her in certain moments.
Brennyn:
Probably the first time we see Marius and Eponine is Paris. Chris and I always tell each other what we are "giving" during that particular show, whether it be groundedness, high energy, opening night, that's the moment to see what actually translates.
I think the biggest way our Marius and Eponine have changed is:
Chris:
We have a physical language down pat that we didn't use to have. A lot of our blocking is quick little things like grabbing my books, or giving her coins, or dying into me. Y'know Les Miz things. Those little moments are so awkward when there's a hiccup. So it took a while to figure out how we both work physically and now those moments hit every night.
Brennyn:
The biggest way Eponine and Marius have changed is that both characters when we portray them, now have a few fibers of Brennyn and Chris. Our energy, our personality, our vibe!
The secret to our performances gelling so well together is:
Chris:
We talk about the show, a lot. We have a lot of time walking to our next entrances together and we check in with each other. How the show feels, how we feel, what felt bad, new things to try. It started almost as a joke, we would set a thing that we are "giving" each show. It's usually something stupid like, "Studio vocals" or "Young grit". But I think it grew into something important. We both know each show is different and we try to navigate that together.
Brennyn:
We actually love each other in real life haha. We have each other's back! Ride or die!!!
Off-stage, my co-star and I bond over:
Chris:
We both are big into keeping our minds at top notch. So we do some meditations together some days or talk through our lives. Sometimes we get into "slumber party" mode where we just sit on the floor and order in food. Usually friends from around the building come join. We try to make time in between shows chill and restorative.
Brennyn:
Drag queens! We live for some fierce vogueing, choreography, full beat! YAS QUEENS. Oh, also rap music sometimes.
I’m in awe of my co-star’s ability to:
Chris:
Have absolutely no learning curve walking on to Broadway. I had a year of understudying to get my life together before I was Marius. She walked straight from AMDA to Eponine. And handled the pressure, the schedule, the social aspects like she's been here decades. There's certain people who just have that frequency in them. She's a pro. But young hearted. My kind of people.
Brennyn:
To always remain so easygoing and unapologetically himself!
Another dream project for us to do together would be:
Chris:
A new musical. That is just filthy pop.
Brennyn:
I think something super pop oriented. Concept wise, Maybe something like Clueless or if The Real World on MTV became a musical somehow.
If I had to describe my co-star in a song, it would be:
Chris:
A Mariah Carey whistle tone.
Brennyn:
Any song off of Taylor Swift's 1989 album. "Shake it off" "Blank Space"....When I first met him that's all he would sing.
Get yourself over to Broadway’s Imperial Theatre to see Chris McCarrell and Brennyn Lark break your heart and give you life as Marius and Eponine in Les Miserables.
