Interview: BFFs Isabelle McCalla and Ellie Fishman Are in Tony-Winning Shows in the Same Season

Isabelle (Izzy) McCalla and Ellie Fishman met 15 years ago, at the age of 18, at college orientation at the University of Michigan. They quickly became best friends, and were roommates by junior year. They lived together for a decade, up until three years ago when they joke that they got an “amicable divorce”—but only on the condition that they would live within walking distance of each other.

Now, McCalla plays Emma Tate in the Tony-winning musical Schmigadoon!, and Fishman is making her Broadway debut in the ensemble of the Tony-winning revival of Ragtime.

In addition to being friends, they are also fans of each other. Fishman is so excited that McCalla, her favorite dancer, gets to show off her dancing skills in Schmigadoon! and was there to cheer on McCalla when she won a Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show. McCalla raves about Fishman’s voice, comparing it to “sunset over a river when the sun shimmers on the stream and it ripples.”

McCalla and Fishman spoke to TheaterMania about their lasting friendship.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Were you immediate friends?
Ellie Fishman: We were immediately drawn together, but we spent time together the summer after freshman year and we had a moment where we had to share some hard information.

Izzy McCalla: We both hooked up with the same person. I’ll share it. I don’t care. Sorry, Ellie.

Ellie: That’s OK. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to. But we were honest about it and then we were like, “I think we’re in this.”

Izzy: I feel like it was very mature for our 19-year-old selves.

Did you do any shows together in college?
Izzy: Never, not even a concert.

Ellie: But it inspired a tradition of ours. Freshman year, Izzy was in the ensemble of Chicago, and I saw it every night. We decided Izzy would send me a little message from the stage.

Izzy: She asked for a thumb twill.

Ellie: Ever since then we’ve done that for each other, every time we see each other in shows. It’s our little, “It’s still me.”

Izzy: We’ve added some things along the way, and we always make sure that it’s well timed, so nobody would know it was happening. It’s a fun little tradition.

What do you each remember about the night of the Tonys?
Ellie: It was my first Tony night, so I was in a whirlwind of crazy emotions. At the dress rehearsal, when I saw where Izzy was being placed in the opening number, I was like, “You’re going to be able to see me in the opening,” because she was at the stage and I was in the aisle facing the stage.

Izzy: I’m lucky enough that this was my third Tony Awards. It was still exciting, but the best part about it was because of my vantage point, I literally watched Ellie’s dream come true. It made me emotional because I’ve wanted this for her forever. And the Tony win was great too.

Ellie: Our performances were back-to-back, so I got to wave at her backstage also as they were leaving and we were whisper-shouting at each other.

Izzy: We went to our separate parties and then Ellie crashed my party, which I did not expect.

Ellie: I left Ragtime’s party, but I found out that her party was on my way home, so I just walked confidently into the building. Because I was all dressed up, no one stopped me and the first thing I heard when I walked in was, “Ellie?!” She was just standing right at the door.

Izzy: I was talking to my managers, and I screamed and ran away from them. And we danced, we hugged.

Ellie, do you remember when you told Izzy that you would be making your Broadway debut in Ragtime?
Ellie: Izzy had just gotten her tonsils removed and I was at her apartment. I knew I was going to get the news soon and I was at her apartment the day after her surgery, so she was taking a nap in her room and I was on the couch ready to make her a smoothie when she woke up and I got a text that accidentally broke the news to me.

Izzy: I was so hype in my [speaking hoarsely], “You got the job.”

Ellie: She couldn’t talk. She wanted to jump up and down and I was like, “You can’t.”

Izzy: I was like, “I’m not moving my throat. I’m just moving my body.”

What is your favorite thing about the other person?
Ellie: Izzy keeps me connected to my inner child, and by inner child, I don’t mean just play. It’s the core self that’s like when you couldn’t hide who you really were when you were younger. I think Izzy’s supremely gifted at touching base with that inner person and not just the outer person you show the world.

Izzy: That’s so sweet. One of my favorite things that I love about Ellie is she is the ultimate friend, and I mean that in the sense that she is always present for whatever you need and as somebody who can get lost in my own head and my own thoughts and my own body, she’s very good at drawing me out. Sometimes all you need is a good snuggle on a couch and a good laugh with a friend. I know that if I’m going through anything ever, I can always tell anything to Ellie because she will listen attentively, not try to fix it, and just be that safe space. Plus, she’s funny and gorgeous and very talented.

Ellie: Thanks, that’s really sweet.

Izzy: I love you.

Ellie: I love you.