We never really graduate from high school. The crushes, the break-ups, the frenemies, the starring roles, and the chorus parts…they all make us who we are today. On Back to School, Broadway mainstay and longtime talk show host Seth Rudetsky interviews celebrities about their high school experiences—and how those experiences continue to shape them.
Skylar Astin had a lot of jobs in high school. First of all, he was already acting professionally. But he also worked as a telemarketer, which he used as an opportunity to practice his dialects, and at Hollister, where he had to ask grown men, "Do you support our flops?" This is the last episode of Season 3, so thanks for listening and don't forget to share with a celebrity-obsessed friend!
Noah Wyle of "ER" fame went to a boarding school, where, in addition to his schoolwork, he had to care for a horse. But in between mucking out the stall and riding practice, he still found time to get in plenty of trouble and discover his passion for acting.
Megan Mullally, AKA Karen from "Will and Grace," knew she wanted to be a performer from day one. She entered high school focused on ballet, but one fateful cabaret-style singing performance gave her the bug.
When Ryan O'Connell, the creator of "Special," came out of the closet, he threw a sexuality reveal party that was the talk of his high school. Plus, growing up with cerebral palsy, wanting his life to be like the movie "Thirteen," and how a medical malpractice lawsuit changed his life.
Comedian Joel Kim Booster left home at the age of 17 after his super-Christian parents learned he was gay. On this episode, he explains how he navigated that alongside the regular trials and tribulations of high school.
Comedian Sydnee Washington's high school experience was the opposite of boring. Going to prom with her godbrother? Check. Setting her house on fire? Check again. Plus, hear about the case of toxic shock syndrome so memorable it "made her who she is today."
If you're familiar with comedian and "Search Party" actor John Early, you will not be surprised to learn that, in high school, he was friends with his female teachers, tormented his male teachers, and took it upon himself to whip the drama department into shape. Don't worry though, there's plenty you will be surprised by, too.
Before SNL's Ana Gasteyer was an actor, singer, and sketch comedian, she was a violinist. In fact, she once spent her precious summer months at a chamber music camp she describes as a "living hell." Plus, hear all about her devastating senior year musical casting and the rats that haunted her childhood home.
Drag queen Nina West went to a Catholic high school, which made coming to terms with his sexuality...interesting. But he managed to dodge the girls who had crushes on him and see his first drag show at the local gay bar.
If you're looking for wild high school stories, you've come to the right place. Camryn Manheim's teenage years included an arrest, suing her own father, and something called an "orgy tent." This is our last episode of the season; we'll see you in the new year!
Comedian and actress Caroline Rhea went to a tiny, all-girls high school in Canada. Here, she describes her extremely innocent upbringing, including how she made money by sewing and selling stuffed mice in Elizabethan costumes.
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