Look at your cute suit.

-Thank you again for doing the at-home show.

-Oh, my God. It was great.

-When we first started, I was like -- We were just kind of --

We didn't know what we were doing, and you showed up,

and that was awesome that you did that.

-Well, I loved doing it, so thanks for having me.

-You're back in New York. -I'm back in New York. Yeah.

-How does it feel? -It was good.

That was the longest stretch I've worked

in Los Angeles was like --

It was about nine months I was there,

'cause we did "Boys in the Band" and then I did "Black Monday"

and then I went right into "The Prom."

So it was lot of L.A. time, but it's nice to be back.

-Yeah. -It's very nice to be home.

-I know you came back and you did a --

You did a very cool thing with some of your

fellow Broadway stars.

You sang a song from "Sunday in the Park with George"

on the big red steps in Times Square.

Honestly, I saw this, and you can't help

but get emotional, because you go like --

You're used to seeing it packed with thousands of people.

-And, you know, a lot of those people were friends.

You know, we've worked together.

You know, we've been friends for a long time.

And it was also the first time we had seen each other.

So that was a lot.

And then -- But, you know, it's sad to be in that neighborhood

and see all of those empty theaters.

And I think it was just something

that we could sort of come together and do as a community

just to say like, "We're not going anywhere.

We will be back when it is, like, safe and possible."

-Yes, you will. That's right. -And we'll be --

You know, we'll come back.

And, you know, anytime I get to hang out with

Bernadette Peters, who I just have, like,

zero game face around,

so I am such a creep.

Like, she was there, and, you know,

she's, like, a wee little person.

-She's so tiny and perfect, yeah.

-And I just, like, go charging up to her and I'm like,

"Hey, Bernadette!"

And, like, make her stand next to me.

And we're in the middle of a pandemic.

And I had, like, my arm around her.

-Yeah, and you have a Southern voice all of a sudden.

She's like, "Maybe back up, Rannells."

-Yeah. "Hey, Bernadette!" -Hey!

Big fan of you in all your movies.

-You start doing "Annie Get Your Gun."

Yeah, yeah. -Yeah. I don't know.

I just lose my mind. I have no game face around her.

-I heard this story that when you wanted to be --

At one point before you were Broadway actor,

you wanted to be Zack Morris.

-Well, who didn't? -I know. That's true.

But how far did you go?

-Well, I just tried to do --

You know, I would watch that show and, like, you know,

try to dress like him, so, you know, my hair was, like,

all Sun In'ed out.

And then, like, I had -- You know,

I would wear, like, slouch blazers.

But I ended up looking like, you know,

Paula Poundstone.

I didn't look like --

-Suspenders and a tie?

-Yeah, I'm, like -- -Oh, my God.

-Sleeves shoved up on my blazer.

So, yeah, I didn't really get very far,

'cause I fought my "type," I think, a lot

when I first moved to New York as young actor.

Like, I really wanted to be in "Rent."

I thought it was, like -- "Rent" was, like,

the biggest show on Broadway at the time.

And it was the first show I had seen on Broadway

and then was the first show I got to audition for,

so I was like, "Oh, I'm totally going to get this."

But if you're familiar with "Rent,"

it's about, like, dirty people

who live in the East Village,

and I look like a confirmation Precious Moment cake topper.

Like, I was not -- No one was buying me as, like,

a heroin-addicted guitar player.

-Precious Moment cake topper. Oh, my God.

-It wasn't happening.

-But let's talk about "The Prom."

-"The Prom."

-Because this is -- I missed it on Broadway.

-Yeah, it was one of those that --

Yeah, I think it ran for about a year.

-But everyone who saw it said, "Dude, you've got to see this.

You'll love it."

-Yeah, it's a very sweet show.

I got to see it before I knew that I was

even going to be a part of the film.

And it sort of centers around, actually,

a true story from 2010 that this girl in Indiana

tried to take her girlfriend to her prom,

and the PTA just shut it down.

So, in this version, that happens with the PTA

and this sweet girl who wants to take her girlfriend.

But then where these knuckleheads come into play --

It's, like, me and James Corden

and Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman,

who play very self-absorbed actors

who decide they're gonna, like, come from Broadway

and save that little lesbian.

And do we help?

I don't know. -That was the original title.

-"Save That Little Lesbian." -That's right. That's correct.

And they changed it to "The Prom" instead.

-So we try. We try to help,

but we sort of make more of a mess of it.

-This is -- I can't believe it.

This is -- -That's really nuts.

-This is Los Angeles' set? -Yes, that is a set.

-Wow!

-And they just re-created 44th Street

in this back lot in Los Angeles.

It was really nuts. -How fun was that?

-I was like, "Oh, this is -- Netflix has money.

Wow!"

-Did it feel like you were doing a Broadway musical?

-Yeah, it did. -It did, yeah.

-It did.

Well and, you know, it was, like, kind of

raining a little bit.

There was something -- It just felt like

we were in New York all of a sudden

and just dancing down the street with

Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman.

-Come on. Bucket list. Come on. -Bucket list.

I mean, you could have married her --

-I want to show everyone a clip.

Here's Andrew Rannells in "The Prom."

Take a look at this.

-Who are you?

-Trent Oliver.

-Oh.

-We've done five shows together. -Oh, really?

-Yeah. -Oh, my God.

-Trent to Juilliard, won't shut up about it.

-Oh, right. Trent. -Trent.

-Of course, Trent.

-[ Laughs ]

-Why are you dressed like a waiter?

-I'm in between gigs at the moment.

Honestly, Dee Dee, I feel adrift,

as I did in my days before Juilliard.

-Oh, my God.

-You see, my passions are fueled by the power of Lady Theater

and how she can, with the gentle touch of her hand,

sculpt a human soul.

You know, what we learned at Juilliard,

if I could soliloquize...

if you prick me, do I not bleed?

-Andrew Rannells!

"The Prom" begins streaming this Friday on Netflix.

You know I love you, buddy. Thank you so much.

Come back whenever, whenever you want.