Interview: Trisha Paytas 'Wouldn't Shut Up' About Being on Broadway – Now It's Happening

Trisha Paytas is officially making her Big Broadway Dream come true. Tonight, the internet sensation will take the stage at the St. James Theatre – currently home to the acclaimed Sunset Boulevard revival starring Nicole Scherzinger – for a one-night-only production.

Livestream tickets are available here, with all net proceeds benefitting the Entertainment Community Fund. The musical theatre extravaganza will feature special guest appearances and performances from Sutton Foster, Ben Platt, Joy Woods, and Rachel Zegler.

To celebrate Trisha Paytas’s Big Broadway Dream, the Empire State Building was lit up pink to honor Paytas' favorite color on the day of her Broadway debut. After she pulled the lever to light up the iconic New York skyscraper, BroadwayWorld spoke with the internet star about how she made her dream come true, her dream gender-bent production of The Producers with Sutton Foster, and more.

Today's the day. How are you feeling about making your Broadway debut?

I feel so excited. I didn't sleep at all, like not even an hour last night because I was so excited. It feels surreal. But I'm actually so ready. I'm not nervous. I just want to perform it because it's so good. All the other shows that I've done before is just like me, by myself and they're just kind of thrown together. This is like a production. This has a hundred people involved in it. So it's a show. It's a Broadway musical, that's what it is.

This was your big dream since you were younger. I saw you even posted yourself performing in Joseph when you were younger. What would you tell younger Trisha now? 

Oh my gosh, I don't think she'd even believe it. I'd be like, "Oh my god, we're gonna be on Broadway one day." Although she thought that, even though she lacked rhythm and didn't have the best voice, she did think she'd be on Broadway.

It's cool now in 2025 Broadway is open up to people of all levels of talent, which is really cool and I'm really excited. I know it's a huge, huge privilege to get to do this so I'm really happy.

Going off of that, how would you say you made this dream come true for yourself? You said you never did give up. You have an incredible team behind this production, but how did you make this happen for yourself?

I think just never shutting up about it. I love Broadway, it's my passion. Musical theater is just an escape. Whenever musicals come out, I love it. So I think I just cosplayed and visualized and just saw myself getting to do this. I don't know, you just you just have a vision in your head and you don't know how it's gonna work but it does. I still can't believe it. I'm not fully grasping it yet, to be honest. I don't know when it'll hit.

I sung with Sutton Foster yesterday, and Ben Platt, Rachel Zegler, and Joy Woods and I was just like ... it's weird. Like, singing with Sutton Foster, I'm like, "What is happening?" I've seen her. They are all so wonderful and gracious, even though my voice was gone. They've been so wonderful and they just perform. They perform full out with me and it's just been so fun. The ensemble, too. Everyone's been so great.

Speaking of all of your cosplays, your Broadway music videos of the past. Now you've got your Broadway debut under your belt, what is the one that you want to tackle full on with a full production?

Gosh, there's so many full productions I want to do. Roxie [Hart in Chicago] is a role that a lot of people can maybe slip into easy to get their feet into Broadway, so that's a big one. Obviously, Off-Broadway, Little Shop of Horrors is a big dream because I did "Suddenly, Seymour," where I played all the parts, so I could do any part they wanted me to.

A dream would be if Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat got brought back and I got to be Joseph. Or The Producers, it's in the West End now, but if it got here to Broadway and they did a female, gender-bent Producers. I could be Max Bialystock with Sutton Foster. It would be so cool. That's the goal, but I would do anything. Honestly, I'd be Dr. Dillamond.

Who is your dream Broadway co-star?

Oh gosh, I feel like I've already gotten to do it with all the ones today. Ben Platt, I was like a such a fan of Rachel's and Joy Woods. But if I had to pick someone that wasn't in the show tonight, I really like Donny Osmond. I know he's only been on Broadway three times, but you know, I love him. I think they need to bring back some of his ones that were opening and closing the same night.

I have a moment in the show at the end that's Joseph and I get to wear the dreamcoat. So yeah, I'm very excited. 

For those watching tonight, what do you hope people will take away from watching you live your Broadway dream?

I just hope people just feel inspired to really go after everything, even if they feel like they're mid. I think it's the generation of the mid people rising, you know? There's so many talented people who will always get to work and be wonderful. But I think just go after anything, even if you're like, "I can't do it." If there's a will, there's a way.