Micaela Diamond Is Ready For Epic New Works

Micaela Diamond back on stage in New York City? That’s what we like to hear! Starting October 23, audiences can catch the Parade star as Sabina in The Seat of Our Pants, a new musical based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, with music by Ethan Lipton, directed by Lee Silverman. 

I got the chance to speak with Micaela about this new take on Wilder’s absurd Pulitzer Prize-winning play and her critically acclaimed turns in Parade and Here We Are.

Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

Theatrely: So, how has your summer been? What have you been up to?

Micaela Diamond: It's good. I'm in Fire Island right now. I've had a very bouncy summer. I feel like I've gone home a few times to Margate, New Jersey, to Atlantic City, which is bizarre: that's my hometown and an entire act is set there in The Skin of Our Teeth. I went to Paris and London. I just feel like I've just been everywhere this summer, which is nice because we're about to buckle down.

So, The Seat of Our Pants, tell me how you got involved with this project.

I remember auditioning. I was doing another workshop at the time and I was so sick. And I remember getting the audition and listening to Ethan [Lipton]'s music and being obsessed with it. I was like: I gotta go to this. I gotta go sing this, even though I'm hoarse and kind of gross-feeling. And I did and it was the warmest room. Lee Silverman, the director, is beloved by many of my friends. I've met her quite a few times and I've always wanted to work with her. I remember seeing Violet when I was 14 and sitting in the chair thinking: She has a scar because they say she has one and that's imagination. They're on a bus now because they start singing about a bus. I was like: This is genius storytelling. Looking back, I'm sure most of that was fucking Lee Silverman. So, I've loved her for a really long time. I thought the play was amazing when I first got it. I had not seen a production of it. I ran to Lincoln Center Archives and watched the production in the park, and I just thought it was so absurd. I didn't really know what to make of it though. A fun, challenging thing to feel.

Your company is just so incredible. Have you spoken to any of them yet before getting into rehearsals? 

Everyone's excited. They've been developing this for a long time. I think most of the leads are new to the company, but I know Damon [Daunno] has been developing this for a very long time. We did a workshop earlier in the year together. I was meeting him for the first time and popped into his music rehearsal and was like: We're doing a thing together this fall. We got very excited. It's great. I did a musical with Andy Grotelueschen before and just adored him. I'm excited to reunite with him. And obviously I'm a fan of Ruthie [Ann Miles]. I’m always excited to start a rehearsal process, especially at such an iconic place. This is a place that's been on my bucket list as an actor for a really long time. It's going to feel like a very exciting first day of school.

That was my next question: what does it mean to you to do a show at The Public?

Well, I grew up in New York, so I definitely went to The Public and had my first illegal sips of alcohol on St. Mark's, which I'll gatekeep that bar in case any LaGuardia drama majors want a $4 Lychee Martini and Edamame for their 17th birthday. But I grew up on those blocks, and so it feels nostalgic to me, to be below Midtown. What a gift. I'm thrilled about the nostalgia part of it. During Here We Are, I read Joe Papp's book, that thick kind of novel about the story of The Public and the making of The Public, and I was kind of obsessed with it. I ran through this 650 page book and loved the origin stories and why it all came to be and Meryl Streep's audition stories there. I feel like it's such a big part of the history of theatre and the purest form of it in some way. I feel like it makes you an actor. It's kind of a rite of passage.

You're no stranger to epic big new works following Here We Are. What excites you the most about working on new shows?

Every process is so different, but this particular play has tried to be adapted by Leonard Bernstein, Kander and Ebb, Jerome Robbins, and all of them have, I don't want to say failed, but nothing came to be. That means we're onto something because those people also thought this would be a good idea. Or it means we are in big trouble. But I think that is a part of downtown theatre. You gotta get into a little trouble. What a perfect place to take some risks. We're doing this in a very different set up than that theater has ever been in. I'm really looking forward to starting from the ground up with another piece like this. You have certain references. I've certainly watched Vivian Lee play this part. There's so much room. There's certainly not a right answer for who these people are. Over dinner in Brooklyn, me, Lee, and Ethan are kind of talking about the real commitment that has to happen for this piece to work. I think that's a part of the collaboration. How much do I have to push? How much does the lighting do that works for me? And the costume? And the set? I'm excited to figure that out together with Lee at the helm.

I want to talk about Parade for a moment. When you think about your time in Parade, now that it’s been over a year out, what comes to mind when you think about that time in your life? 

Micaela: I think about it all the time. I think of Ben a lot. I still see Ben all the time and I think we knew in the moment that this would be a rare experience. And we certainly feel that now, I think because we were witnesses to each other's experience, we were able to really take it in in the moment and be so present for all of the kind of awards chaos and just enjoy it. I can remember walking on stage at the Tonys and getting entrance applause. I didn't black out for any of it and I'm so grateful for that. I miss it deeply and experienced such a level of worthiness in myself as a person and an actor. I know that's maybe gooey. It does feel true. It was the best experience of my life. And I've never felt so proud to make something. It just gave me an immense amount of purpose.

Jumping back to eat of Our Pants, what is your process like leading up to that first day of rehearsal? Is it something you think about a lot? Or do you try to keep it out of your mind until you get there?

Micaela: I am famously an over-preparer. I like to have some sense of the songs, but mostly I just read the script over and over again and kind of write thoughts that keep coming to me about who I think this character is and who the other players in the piece think she is. I start to observe people differently. My gut slowly starts to put little puzzle pieces down, they don't even have to connect yet. I want to feel inspired and alive before I get in the room. That's really what I do. I start to see the themes of the play in my own life. Sabina has this special, alive quality about her, but is deeply unfulfilled and has never found her place in life, what she was meant to do or who she was meant to be with. What do you live for? What are you left with at the end of the day? What is all the suffering for? I start to see those kinds of themes come up in my own life. I'm starting to try and find where that lives emotionally in my body.

When young folks come and see this musical, what do you hope they take away from it?

Micaela: I think that this show won the Pulitzer for its imagination and I have a line in the show where I say, "Don't try and understand this play." And I think I mean that. I remember being young and seeing things and not really understanding something, but I felt it. I felt changed. I felt like I wanted to talk about it. And that is enough in the theatre. Because one day they're gonna pick up Skin of Our Teeth at the Drama Bookshop when they're 35 and they'll be like, "Oh my God, I didn't quite realize that that's what they were talking about." And that feels amazing. It doesn't feel shameful or embarrassing. It feels so cool to be like: Look at how far I've come as a person to have not even noticed that part of the show or not have been affected by the affair she's having with Mr. Antrobus. So, I think I agree with my girl Sabina. I think you don't have to try and understand it, but leave yourself open to feel something.

Speaking about the New York season this fall, it's going to be busy. On your off day, what are you excited to see?

Micaela: It's such an interesting season. I am really excited for Waiting for Godot and for Spelling Bee, which is a really funny pairing to me. Like, that says exactly who I am and who I'm trying to be. I'm excited about those two shows. Spelling Bee because of the material. And then Waiting for Godot because of the performances. I think so much of me now goes to the theatre as a study in a way to search for who's doing great work. 

Theatrely’s 2025 Fall Preview is sponsored by Stage Door Pass. Track the shows you see and share your experience. To learn more, visit here.