A Very Kalen Christmas | Kalen Allen
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Season’s greetings! Ricki’s former co-host Kalen Allen stops by to spread holiday cheer and boy does he deliver. Not only is Kalen making his Broadway debut in ‘Elf,’ but he has a new Netflix movie and Christmas album out! Kalen and Ricki talk about his favorite holiday traditions, how it feels to be on Broadway, and why he’ll be hitting on the Secret Service men at the White House this Christmas.
Check out Kalen in ‘Meet Me Next Christmas’ on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81392060
Listen to Kalen’s latest holiday album, ‘Christmas Memories’: https://open.spotify.com/album/2HNZKa1VHSeMhkUvmCrfJ2
Follow Ricki Lake @rickilake on Instagram. And stay up to date with us @LemonadaMedia on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Transcript
SPEAKERS
Kalen Allen, Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake 00:02
This is The High Life With me, Ricki Lake, where we get to find out how my guests crack that code to living a full and vibrant life. So you can too. Today’s episode, well, it’s all about holiday joy. And who better to talk about holiday joy than my dear friend Kalen Allen. I am so happy to have him back on the pod. Kaylan has literally been killing it this holiday season. I just got to see him Saturday night star in elf, the musical. He was making his Broadway debut, and he blew me away. That actually is like an understatement for me. Plus, he has a new Christmas album, and he’s also co starred in the Netflix film, meet me next Christmas. He is truly the new holiday king. You may know Kalen from his viral food reaction videos way back when, and his time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where millions grew to love him. Oh, and I guess I did mention it, but I’m gonna mention it again. He was my dear co host of the raised by Ricky podcast. Welcome back to the show. Kalen, it’s great to see you.
Kalen Allen 01:01
Hey, girl, how you doing? It wasn’t just too long ago that we were together in person.
Ricki Lake 01:06
Yeah, and we stay in touch. We became, I mean, is it presumptuous to say you’re like, one of my besties.
Kalen Allen 01:12
Of course, we are. You probably the only person I go to visit when I’m in, La.
Ricki Lake 01:17
Is that true? Okay, well, it’s also because I have a nice view, right?
Kalen Allen 01:20
Yeah, it is pretty nice to go stay up to Malibu. I’m like, Oh, look at this.
Ricki Lake 01:24
Well, it was really nice to see you the other night at the marquee theater. It really was. I mean, I first of all, guys, you gotta go see it, and you gotta go see it quick, because it’s only running till what, January.
Kalen Allen 01:34
January 4.
Ricki Lake 01:35
January 4, okay, and I have to say Kaylin is one of the main reasons to see it. I had a shit eating grin the entire like, like you saw the little reel I did walking into the theater. I was failing for you. I was so happy. What has that been? Experience been like because it was your debut, your Broadway debut.
Kalen Allen 01:54
Yeah, oh my gosh. I think for me, it has definitely felt like home, you know? I think, you know, I went to school, I did theater my entire life, and then I kind of put that in the pocket once I went to Hollywood and started doing TV and film. But there is nothing like doing live theater. And also it’s just amazing. The people that I get to work with, like Ashley Brown, she’s original Mary Poppins. I have Kayla Davion, who was in Tina on Broadway. We have Michael Hayden. He was in carousel with Audra McDonald. Then we also got Sean Astin like this. The cast is stacked.
Ricki Lake 02:30
Yeah, the Goonies, one of the original Goonies, and it’s insane. And it’s he’s making his Broadway debut too. Yes, yes, he is. And I got to say hello, I did a movie way back when, called where the day takes you with him, and we were in each other’s circle, so it was really nice to see him, but it looks like you’re having a blast, like this was your dream. I mean, you, you are fulfilling your dreams. Because I, you know, I have not done Broadway. There was a moment I don’t know if I told I was I was okay. I’m not gonna admit what happened, but basically.
Kalen Allen 02:58
What did you almost do?
Ricki Lake 03:00
It’s sort of embarrassing. I was offered a role, and then they took back the offer, like it was one of these things. They rescinded their offer the next day, like it was one of those things. I’m not gonna say the name of the show, but it was a very, it was a short lived holiday type of thing, okay, and I got really excited because me as a little girl, as a little guy.
Kalen Allen 03:21
Why won’t you mention the name?
Ricki Lake 03:22
Because it’s just kind of mortifying that the job was, like, taken out of my hands before I even, like, I and I made, I made the mistake. I told it, like a lot of my people, I got really excited, and it just it disappeared, and as quickly as it came into my field, kind of like, you know, I mean, it was just, yeah.
Kalen Allen 03:40
Was it Annie?
Ricki Lake 03:41
Yeah, it was Annie. It was Annie. Did I tell you this?
Kalen Allen 03:44
No, I just figured […]
Ricki Lake 03:47
Goldberg’s doing, yeah. But, like, the offer came in and they were, like, starting to negotiate, and I was, you know, I’m here, I’m local here, whatever. I don’t know what happened, you know, and rejection is weird, but like, I don’t take it personally. I really don’t. And I actually look at it now as, like, it was a relief, honestly.
Kalen Allen 04:06
Now I will say this is probably the most work that I’ve ever had to do.
Ricki Lake 04:10
Really?
Kalen Allen 04:10
Yes, absolutely.
Ricki Lake 04:12
Okay, so wait, so tell me. How did you get the part? Like, did you have to go and do a bunch of auditions?
Kalen Allen 04:17
So how I actually got it was that a friend of mine, Brandon, Michael nice, who also produced my Christmas album, he was like, hey, elf is coming back to Broadway. You should have your people reach out to get you an audition, right? So I said, Okay, great. A lot of the majority of the work that I get comes from friends. So then I was like, I was like, Okay, so my people reached out, I think was probably the day before the audition, and they didn’t know, as far as, like, creative team didn’t know anything about who I was or what I did. So there was definitely no lead in to be like, oh, here comes a content creator or somebody with a lot of followers. Like that was not the case. And so I was like, Well, I have not done this in a long time, so I had to figure out a headshot to go print out. And. And then I had to make a resume. Even though my team sent over resume, I made a difference with all my performing arts stuff. And then I auditioned with, don’t let me go from Shrek to musical, which I had not done since my senior year of high school. But I was like, that’s the only song that I really still remember. So I went in, did the audition, did the callback. The next day, they originally had me read for two roles. So they had me read for the store manager, but they also had me read for dad because they were thinking about possibly making the secretary a different gender.
Ricki Lake 05:31
Oh, okay.
Kalen Allen 05:32
Yeah, so they had me read for that role as well, and then next thing I knew, they offered me the role.
Ricki Lake 05:38
Wow, was it F Yes. Was it like, immediately, like, absolutely.
Kalen Allen 05:42
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Ricki Lake 05:44
Like, I mean, I just can’t imagine. I mean, I know how I felt in the moment that they offered me Miss Hannigan again. It was like, 24 hours of, like, thinking I was doing that role. You got the part, and then you’re getting in rehearsals. Do you immediately bond with everyone?
Kalen Allen 05:58
Yes, yeah, okay so we started rehearsals. I want to say september 30. So we have rehearsals at Gibney Studios, which was in near Union Square, okay? And we rehearsed every day from 10 to six, okay, every day except Sundays off. But this is what I’ll say, because, you know, I’ve judged a lot of food competition shows where those are 12 hour days, right? And in comparison, Broadway is tougher. And the reason why I say that is because one, you’re using your mental, your physical and your emotion all at once, and you’re having to retain that information quickly, like, for instance, I tapped in elf. I did not know how to tap when I started this show, so when I learned the tap, I was like, I really struggled for like, two weeks.
Ricki Lake 06:50
You looked so good doing it. I did learn to tap as a kid, like, I can still do, you know, some moves, but you, you looked so natural up there.
Kalen Allen 06:59
Listen, I ordered a tap board from Amazon, and I had it in this house. And when I would get home from rehearsals, I would practice the tap number, because I was like, I will not be looking like, Boo Boo the fool up on that stage when we open. So that was the rehearsals. And then we moved into tech, right? Now Tech was easy, because the show actually it’s kind of like a copy and paste. So they had done it in London the past two years. So basically they brought the same production and brought it here. So a lot of the same lighting cues and everything were the same. So we only had two weeks of tech, and we kind of just were already doing runs at that point. Because, I mean, you’re working with professionals, so everybody came in off book, ready to just jump into the paint.
Ricki Lake 07:42
Wow, same director?
Kalen Allen 07:44
Yes same director too, yeah. And the same the choreographer. Everybody was from London, the music supervisor, who was the same music supervisor for Sunset Boulevard Allen. He was also on our show. So it was very easy. It was very seamless. It was it was really a dream. It was the easiest process that everybody is so wonderful, like, we don’t have no cash drama, ain’t no issues. Everybody gets along.
Ricki Lake 08:08
Any like love affairs, any like romances?
Kalen Allen 08:10
No, surprisingly, not.
Ricki Lake 08:12
No, romance happening with you on off stage, not with me, baby. Share a dressing room, and you have your own.
Kalen Allen 08:20
I have my own.
Ricki Lake 08:21
You have your own. That’s amazing. And you have it all decorated. I would imagine you do somewhat.
Kalen Allen 08:29
You know what? I can’t believe I didn’t take you to the dressing room. That was so rude.
Ricki Lake 08:33
No, you didn’t. No, it’s all good. And I saw Sunset Boulevard. Nicole Scherzinger, you guys and the production, I’m not a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. I don’t like cats. I don’t like what’s that other one about the what’s the famous? The famous one? Oh, Phantom of the Opera. Phantom of the Opera, I hated that show. Really, something about Sunset Boulevard. I saw it with Glenn Close. We’re so going off topic. I need to be talking about your Netflix thing. But I love talking about Broadway with you. And you know what happened when we left your show? Okay, so you have you seen Sunset Boulevard? No, I have not yet, okay, but, you know, there’s a portion of it that they do out on our streets. Okay? And Ross and I, my husband, we were having this discussion because I was like, that has to be pre taped. That has to be like, There’s no way. What if it’s raining, what if it’s you know, there’s no way. And just as we leave your show, we leave you we’re out on whatever that’s 44th Street or 46th Street, the actual show is happening on the street in front of I got it on video of them, and so it was live. And that was really, really cool. It felt so electric being back in New York. You know, I’m from there. I used to my old show. There I was abroad, going to Broadway shows all you know, for my youth, and it was such you were such a huge part of this joyful time that I had there. Let’s talk about your other stuff, the Christmas album. You decided to wait. You were gonna put it out last year, and you decided to wait. Were you glad that you did?
Kalen Allen 09:53
Yes, especially because of elf and all this other stuff that came up. For instance, like, I didn’t know elf was gonna happen last year. I am. Food because I knew that the Netflix movie was coming out this year. Oh, let’s just put them all both together, and it can be just one, a very Caitlyn Christmas. So that was really how that thought process happened, but I was not expecting elf to also come along. So I am glad that I waited, you know?
Ricki Lake 10:16
It’s an embarrassment of riches. I know, right? The album is called Christmas memories. Why did you choose that title?
Kalen Allen 10:23
So actually, the I always say that the album’s like a time capsule, so it basically tells my journey of Christmas, from adult Caitlyn to child Caitlyn. So we start with very funk pop. There’s a song called wanna make it snow. And I just saying this now it’s talking about Santa making it snow. But it’s not necessarily the snow that you think it is okay, just so, you know, you have to listen to it to get it, um, and so it’s adult Caitlyn. And then it goes all the way back to Kia. So we go from pop, we go to funk, then we get a little bit more R and B, because that gets more into the 90s and the early 2000s and then we end with gospel, because I grew up in the church, and that was the first time I ever sang a song in church and stuff like that. So that is also how we how we end the album, but that’s why it’s called Christmas memories.
Ricki Lake 11:13
Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Kalen Allen 11:15
It changes, but my favorite usually is always go, saying a go, which is the first song on the album. It has there’s an overture, because it’s also very musical. It is very theatrical in the way that it is composed. You have to, like, sort of listen to the album from front to back in order to really understand the journey. But go, say, to go is one of my all time favorites.
Kalen Allen 11:36
Time has come. The holidays have just begun now. I never time to have some fun. It’s your time to shine. Come on now, let alone because the world is lost and the children. Don’t know what it means to write a letter to Santa Claus, but when the Spirit’s low and the hope is gone, it takes our […]
Ricki Lake 12:14
Kalen, I love you. Okay, we gotta take a short ad break. We’ll be right back.
Ricki Lake 12:32
How did like, what was the process of you writing these songs? Like, was that hard for you? Was it like, fast? Was it, you know, how did it work?
Kalen Allen 12:39
So it was me, my friend, Brandon, Michael Nace. He has two incredibly talented friends, Malachi mapson, who plays piano, and then also Paul Johnson, who plays bass, but also is an amazing arranger and orchestrator. And so sometimes the songs will come up as ideas like, they would just come to me be like, oh, I want a song about this. I am better at writing songs that are based on the theme, you know what I mean. And so I remember there’s a song in there called it’s given 12. And actually they had been submitting for like a Cadillac commercial, and there was a song that they didn’t like, and so they sent it to me, and I was like, oh, I can turn this into a song. And so I basically reworked it now, go, Santa, go. I actually started that from a voice note. The song had came into my head. I was like, Go, Santa, go, go, go, Santa, go, go, go, Santa, go, go, go, Santa, go, go. And then I was like, let me put that in a voice note, and I took it to Malachi. Malachi did something with the keys, put it together, and then we took it from there. And there are a lot of influences in the album as well. There’s a song called, I still believe Christmas memories, which is the title track of the album. And I actually the way I came up with that one is that if you listen to Mariah Carey’s looking in, it has a very kind of theme to it, and very similar chords, and it has that same kind of emotion and feel. So every song had a purpose and intention and was derived from some sort of inspiration in my life.
Ricki Lake 14:10
I love you breaking this down, I’m gonna listen to it differently now. And did you write these songs, or you had.
Kalen Allen 14:16
I wrote them.
Ricki Lake 14:16
You wrote them all?
Kalen Allen 14:18
the album. There are 12 songs on the album. There is technically only one cover, which is where you Christmas from the Grinch. It was saying by Faith Hill. But also it was written by Mariah Carey. And then all the traditional songs that are on there, like, for instance, go tell it on the mountain or, oh, come all you faithful. Or some Christmas carols that are in there, those are all re imagined so they don’t sound like the way that you’re used to them, and then everything else is original. One thing that was important to me was that I wanted to create something that was new and fresh. I was like, I just don’t want to sing the same old songs over and over again. I was like, we’ve done that. People do that all the time. I want to create something that feels very fresh and new.
Ricki Lake 15:01
And are you happy with how the album came out?
Kalen Allen 15:03
Oh, absolutely, I would say, is probably some of the best thing that I’ve ever done. And it’s funny, because people, you know, will ask about, like, house sales and stuff, and I don’t even look at stuff, because that’s not also that’s not the reason why I did it. Originally I was doing the album because I wanted to do Broadway, and I knew you needed to prove yourself in order to be able to do that space and but now I’m doing Broadway, you know what I mean. So a lot of the things that I do are purely just me as an artist wanting to creatively express myself.
Ricki Lake 15:30
You’re so talented. It’s so crazy. Honestly. Kalen, let’s talk about your Netflix Christmas movie. Meet me next Christmas.
Kalen Allen 15:40
Yeah.
Ricki Lake 15:40
Give me the scoop. Give me the lowdown.
Kalen Allen 15:42
So we filmed it two years ago in Toronto, Canada. It’s me, Deval Ellis, Christina milion, Pentatonix is also in it, but basically the movie is about Layla, who was played by Christina milion, and her quest to get Pentatonix tickets so that she can meet the love of her life. So she employs a service to do that, and the person that runs the service, I play the cousin to so I play Geordi.
Ricki Lake 16:09
Yeah, tell us about nothing. There’s nothing basic about Geordi.
Kalen Allen 16:12
Yeah, no, Jordi is not basic at all. Jordi is a performer phenomenon who basically brings Layla and Teddy and forces them to compete in a lip sync contest. Which one of the prizes is Pentatonix tickets. And so Jordy is definitely the comedic relief of the movie totally goes in full force at the beginning, just giving nothing but Sass and sparkle.
Ricki Lake 16:39
And what did you have a say in your character’s look?
Kalen Allen 16:42
Not in the look, really. So they really told me what the look was, and so I just kind of embodied it. But most people always talk about the scene that I am teaching the choreo in the house, and people always say, Oh, I wonder how many takes did that take? And it actually was one take, and it was all improv. And they just said to me. They were like, just make it your own. Because I thought that they were on teaching me like the choreo that they do actually in the movie, at the Lip Sync Battle, they were like, no, no, make it whatever you want it to be. And so I said, okay, and I just ran with it.
Ricki Lake 17:15
And wait, tell everyone who hasn’t seen the movie what you’re How do you describe your look?
Kalen Allen 17:20
So Geordi has many different looks, but he’s definitely more androgynous in his appearance. And specifically so there is an outfit that Geordi wears in the show to go to the Lip Sync Battle, where it’s like a full blue corduroy suit, right? That is actually my own suit from my own closet. Of course it is. So they were like, Oh, we want you to wear this. They literally went through my Instagram, like, can you wear this? Can you wear this? So I wore that. But he also, with that outfit, has this wig on that is nothing but, like, braids that literally go down my back, and it has, like, blue in it, and it sparkles honey. The face is beat. There is eyeshadow. It’s a whole thing.
Ricki Lake 17:58
Were you channeling Beyonce when you were doing that?
Kalen Allen 18:01
Actually, you know who I was actually channeling. I was channeling Lori Ann Gibson, and she’s a choreographer, and people mostly know mostly know her from like boom [..] , and she used to do like Lady Gaga and choreograph all these people. She was also on making the band. So that’s who I was channeling.
Ricki Lake 18:17
If I was in New York with you right now, I would want to learn the wicked choreography with you. That’s like going, Oh, are you seeing that with a book? Yes, yes. I would want you to teach me that. Let’s do it together.
Kalen Allen 18:30
I would love that.
Ricki Lake 18:31
Okay, what are your favorite holiday movies?
Kalen Allen 18:34
Oh, definitely. Elf home alone, the Grinch. I watched that on Thanksgiving. I think it is spectacular. I think Jim Carrey should have won an Oscar for his portrayal as the Grinch. And I hate that they don’t give comedy the same due respect as they do for drama. You know what I mean?
Ricki Lake 18:50
Yeah, I’m trying to think of my favorite, I mean, like, It’s a Wonderful Life is you can’t go wrong with Jimmy Stewart. Come on.
Kalen Allen 18:57
Ah, you know what? I’ve never seen it. Oh, I need to watch it. I’ma watch it.
Ricki Lake 19:03
Yes, it’s it’s so good.
Kalen Allen 19:05
I’ma watch it. I’ma watch that. I’ma watch White Christmas.
Ricki Lake 19:08
What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?
Kalen Allen 19:11
Oh, so Christmas was huge in my house. We used to get a real tree every year, and then my mother used to also decorate the house every year. I mean, we had inflatables out in the yard, like we had snowmen, we had Santa Claus, we had light of reindeer that we would put out. We had Christmas candy canes, like all those things would be out. And also, on Christmas Eve, what we would do is that the entire family would go meet for dinner at a restaurant, and that’s where we would do the family gift exchange.
Ricki Lake 19:44
Not cooking at home.
Kalen Allen 19:45
No not on Christmas Eve, okay? And then on Christmas Day, we would go over to a family member’s house, whoever was hosting Christmas that that year. And so we would go over their house, and then they would cook the dinner. But we never really cooked dinner at my house, and we never really hosted, I think. We hosted Thanksgiving one year, and so now I think that’s why it’s so important for me to do the hosting.
Ricki Lake 20:06
Yeah. Why do you think that is?
Kalen Allen 20:08
Well, my mother was never a big Cook, and my grandmother was, but she didn’t cook huge meals. She kind of just cooked for me, you know, and my mother in the house. So there was never, I don’t think they were just used to doing I think also it was a room kind of situation, like, who had the most room to, like, host everybody. I think that was also the thing is, like we were very split up, like the house is very different now than what it was like. I live a room. I don’t know if you ever been to a black person house like that, like, lives in the house and have been there for the entire life. But you go to the house, more than likely you don’t sit in the living room, like the living room back then was like a showroom, but nobody sat in there.
Ricki Lake 20:50
Oh, it had PLA plastic on the […]
Kalen Allen 20:52
Absolutely, like it was very much just there to look at. You know what I mean?
Ricki Lake 20:56
I think white people do that too, just so you know.
Kalen Allen 20:58
Oh, really okay, yeah. And see now, I redid the living room, so now you actually do sit in the living room like it is a communal space. You know what I mean?
Ricki Lake 21:08
Is your room still your childhood room?
Kalen Allen 21:10
Yes, but now it’s been changed into a sitting I changed it into a like a library sitting room for my mother. So like there’s a recliner in there, and now the fireplace is in there, and it’s like motivational quotes on the wall, and she goes in there and sits there and watch TV actually.
Ricki Lake 21:25
Oh, I hope I meet your mom someday, I would love it.
Kalen Allen 21:29
We need to make that happen.
Ricki Lake 21:32
Let’s take a quick break. We’ll be back with more. With Kalen Allen.
Ricki Lake 21:46
So okay, so Christmas for you, you’re working. Do you have to actually do shows on Christmas Day?
Kalen Allen 21:51
No, surprisingly, we don’t have shows on Christmas Eve or Christmas and that was actually shocking to me. I personally feel like we should have a Christmas Eve show, but I do know that that week we have a show on that Monday.
Ricki Lake 22:04
So what will you do on Christmas? Is your mother coming to town? You know, see friends?
Kalen Allen 22:09
No, so my mother came for the first preview of the show. But what I’m actually thinking of doing is that I kind of want to do a sleepover on Christmas Eve and invite my friends that are staying here, and everybody has to bring a gift and put it on the tree, and then when we wake up on Christmas, we open up the presents. You know, Beyonce is also doing a half time performance on Christmas at the game in Houston for football, so I will also be watching that. But I’m not going to do a dinner, because I did cook on Thanksgiving this year, and that was draining after having an eight show week. And I was just like, you know what? I don’t think I got another dinner in me.
Ricki Lake 22:44
That is crazy. How many people did you cook for? I think it was about 18. You did that in between these shows? Yes, I was looking for you. I was I was hoping you were gonna be in the parade, but they didn’t make you do the parade.
Kalen Allen 22:55
No, we didn’t do the parade. I know. I wish we would’ve that would’ve been fun.
Ricki Lake 22:59
Have you ever done the parade?
Kalen Allen 23:01
No, that’s why I wanted to do it.
Ricki Lake 23:03
Okay, do you know the story of me in the parade? Okay? Again, just like I saw Annie as a little girl, I would watch or go to the parade every year, my parents would take us, and it was like a ritual, and I wanted to be like a star on a float. Okay, well, I got my wish the first season of the Ricky Lake Show. So think of it. It’s 1993 okay, and it is one of the coldest Thanksgivings that they’ve had, right? They put me in I borrowed my friend’s shearling coat. I, you know, I went and did protesting for PETA years a year later, but that at that point I’m wearing the shearling coat they had me on the rocking horse. Okay, if you know the giant rocking horse, you have to straddle it. So I’m straddling this thing. And two blocks into the parade, it gets a flat tire. I’m not kidding you. I literally am like freezing, waving, my teeth are chattering and my pelvic bone is being like, slaughtered every every block.
Kalen Allen 24:05
Oh, my God.
Ricki Lake 24:06
It was a nightmare. It was like, I could not wait to get off that thing. You know, looking back on it was hilarious, but it’s like, okay, I chalked that off the list. I did it. I did it. I never have to do it again. It was really unfortunate.
Kalen Allen 24:21
And freezing cold.
Ricki Lake 24:23
It was, it was and I was Brut like, I had a full on, like, injury in my in my nether regions, and, yeah, be careful what you wish for Jesus.
Kalen Allen 24:32
And it was raining. So I am kind of glad.
Ricki Lake 24:35
That we didn’t do it. And you could have gotten sick. Have you gotten sick while this, during this run.
Kalen Allen 24:39
I got sick for like, one day, and that was during rehearsals, and I think that was just from exhaustion. It has been tough. It’s tough, and I still have not found the balance. And to be honest, I don’t know if I will, I probably won’t find any balance until after it’s over, but I’m trying to give myself grace and not beat myself up about the fact that I can’t. Be everywhere all at once, and allowing myself to be like, well, Caitlin Broadway is enough.
Ricki Lake 25:05
When you get home, are you able to, like, shut it off and go to sleep?
Kalen Allen 25:09
Yes, now I wasn’t when we had our first invited dress, yeah, I was so, like, wired up and excited that I could not go to sleep when I came home. Yeah, I think I went to sleep like, three o’clock in the morning.
Ricki Lake 25:20
Yeah, I would imagine.
Kalen Allen 25:22
Because, you know, during previews, you still have rehearsal during the day, say, rehearsal during the day, it didn’t show in the evening. So we would be there from like 11am to 11pm.
Ricki Lake 25:36
Wow, and then I was looking for you with the roller skates. There’s that. They’re on roller skates. I was like, where’s Galen? Where’s Galen? Yeah, luckily, I know a guy in the cast that looks kind of like you right?
Kalen Allen 25:45
Yes, Demarias, and he’s actually my understudy.
Ricki Lake 25:48
Okay, has he had to go on for you? Have you missed a show?
Kalen Allen 25:51
No, but he will. I am going to be out of the show on December 17 because I’m going to the holiday reception at the White House. And I said, Well, let me go now, because I ain’t gonna be there the next four years, so I better go now. So wait.
Ricki Lake 26:05
So what does that entail? What do you mean going to the White House? Like, how did you get that invite, and what do you have to do for it?
Kalen Allen 26:09
Well, so last year, so I had been working with the Biden Harris administration since, like, the past year and a half, since October of last year, I think, and so basically, I went to the holiday reception last year. But I’ve been going to, like, the White House for many different things, in and out, in and out, in and out. And, you know, I also went to the DNC. And then also, while now, I did have to miss one day of tech because I actually hosted a rally with Michelle Obama in Atlanta. So I went and did that. So I’ve been, you know, dibbling and dabbling in my politics bag. But yeah, I went to the holiday reception last year, and so this year they invited me again. So I’ma go, because that’s also one of the only events that they give you food at. So I will be there, and I will, I’ll be there to say goodbye. Do you know people there? Oh, y’all know the staff.
Ricki Lake 27:01
You do?
Kalen Allen 27:01
Uh huh, and the Secret Service is fine. I’ll be trying to find me a man.
Ricki Lake 27:06
I was just gonna ask you, how’s how’s your love life.
Kalen Allen 27:09
Child, not what do you mean? I barely have time to breathe. Ain’t no love life.
Ricki Lake 27:15
Oh, man, yeah. Okay, so is that next on the list of things you’d like this year? What are you asking for, Santa this year?
Kalen Allen 27:22
Oh, now I have been really talking to people. I’ve been like, Y’all, I gotta get a husband very soon, because I want to have kids by 35 and so when you meet that man, you got to have some time to know if this the man that you want to have kids with. You just can’t do that in a year time, right? So I’m like, I need to get serious about this.
Ricki Lake 27:40
Wait and how old are you now?
Kalen Allen 27:41
28.
Ricki Lake 27:42
Oh, my God, you’re only 28 it’s crazy. What is next for you? Like, what do you want to like, achieve next? Is there something on the bucket list that’s that’s coming up for you?
Kalen Allen 27:53
Well, I guess I can talk about this, but I am going to actually be teaching at NYU next summer. I want to teach a course on digital content in journalism, so you can call me Professor Kalin, and that’s in June. Yet I’ll be six weeks in June, and then in July, I’m thinking, I’m going to move back to Los Angeles. That is amazing, because people know that I’ve spoke very much of how, like, I love New York, and how New York has It has given me new purpose. It has revived me in a different way. And I think though, there has been some type of sign and something speaking to me, to telling me that it’s time for me to go back. And I know because of how much I didn’t like LA the first time I was there, and how much I loved New York, that I would not have that feeling if it wasn’t for a reason. And I think the difference is, is that I needed to come to New York to kind of finish unfinished business of what I had when I was in LA, because, you know, I had left college and went to Ellen and was doing that, and so my life was kind of being chosen for me at that time. And my dreams were still to do Broadway and to go to NYU and to live in New York. And now I’ve done all those things, you know. And you know, I want to talk show, and I want to be able to really do more acting. And there’s been so many opportunities that have come my way that I’ve had to decline because I didn’t live in LA, you know, and I don’t work a lot in New York. I just kind of live here and travel everywhere, and I kind of just want to go back to where it’s a little bit easier for that.
Ricki Lake 29:30
Well, I’m all for it. I mean, I, you know, I’m a New Yorker. I’ll always be. And that’s when I land, I land in New York, and I just, I feel it in my blood, and I just feel like I’m home. And my husband was like, it smells. Here was his reaction. I mean, we had a great visit. It was so nice. But I after moving, and I’m, you know, the story goes, I left after 911 I left my show. I left my merit, you know, all the changes that I made, and I’ve never looked back like I now, I’m all for you moving out to LA and being maybe not. Neighbor, but like in the vicinity, where we could see each other more regularly, so you still want to have a talk show, huh?
Kalen Allen 30:05
I do in whatever way that that works in today’s day and age. You know what I mean? I don’t think that talk show would it may not be network TV only because I think that is such a niche and kind of I think there’s too many restraints put on that. You know, there’s a lot of rules to follow by, yeah, but I would love to figure out what it looks like in a streamer world, you know, or something like that. So I think that’s the goal.
Ricki Lake 30:31
That’s great. Well, you know, if you ever want me to be a guest, you know, you know, I’m always there.
Kalen Allen 30:35
Oh, you already know it.
Ricki Lake 30:36
Yeah, like, I keep saying it’s like, I feel like you’re like, my little like, a little brother to me. Oh, I don’t mean like, I don’t mean to sound like the little like, like, you know, you know what I mean. It’s like, it’s endearing. I really, really am, like, just so excited for like, all your dreams coming true.
Kalen Allen 30:51
I think it’s also meaningful for me, because, you know, I’d have met a lot of hot shots in this Hollywood business. You know what? I mean, yeah, but out of everyone, you’re the one that I feel genuinely the closest to, and that we actually have, like, a normal relationship, you know? Because celebrities can be kind of weird, so it is always refreshing. That’s why, every time I come to LA I’m like, Okay, I gotta make sure I put Ricky lake in my schedule. Yes, I gotta go up there, even when you running after Dolly, because she done ran down the street Exactly. I’m like, yep, that’s where I’m gonna be.
Ricki Lake 31:22
One of these days, you’re gonna get high with me, with my Ricky, no one, yeah, one day, that’d be really fun. I’ll pop your cherry right in that, right? Because I don’t think you’ve ever?
Kalen Allen 31:33
I’ll take edibles.
Ricki Lake 31:34
Oh, that, yeah, but I might my Yeah, we’re gonna smoke a joint together. They can make joint one of these days, and you can come over here and you’ll cook something here. How about that?
Kalen Allen 31:43
Oh, please, because you got a great kitchen.
Ricki Lake 31:46
Yeah, I do, but I don’t know how to cook, so I need you so, oh, I have no problem. That’s what I’m wishing this holiday season. That’s what I’m wishing for Christmas is I get you over here, you move to LA, you become close to me, and we have a meal together here. And then some sounds like a plan to me. Kalen.
Kalen Allen 32:03
Yes.
Ricki Lake 32:04
This is such a pleasure. Thank you for joining me during this holiday season. I know how busy you are. It really means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to the people that listen to this podcast. They miss you, and it’s just great to hear you and see you.
Kalen Allen 32:17
Oh, Thank you, Ricki, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me over.
Ricki Lake 32:21
Happy holidays.
Kalen Allen 32:22
Happy holidays, honey.
Ricki Lake 32:25
That was joy, if we’re talking about holiday season and joy. And this podcast is all about joy, talking to my friend Kalen, about all the good things that’s happening in his life, and having had the chance to see him in action, it was really a holiday dream come true. Thank you Kalen. You can find Kalen Allen on Instagram and Tiktok @thekalenAllen and make sure you watch his latest film, Meet Me Next Christmas on Netflix. You can also catch him on Broadway, starring An Elf the musical, just until January 4. So hurry, and why don’t we go out with one of his songs from his latest album.
CREDITS 32:59
Thank you so much for listening. There is much more of The High Life with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content like rapid fire questions with Kalen Allen. Subscribe now in Apple podcasts. Thank you for listening. And hey, if you like what you’re listening to, please do me a favor and rate and review the show. It would mean so much to us, thank you.The High Life is a production of Lemonada Media. Isabella Kulkarni and Kathryn Barnes, and […] produced our show. Our mixes by James Sparber. Executive Producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer. Additional Lemonada support from Rachel Neel and Steve Nelson. You can find me @Rickilake on Instagram. Follow The High Life with Ricki Lake, wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership.
