In this episode of Let’s Talk Tri Delta, Lexi Leggs, Millikin, sits down with Clarissa Vidal Cueva, San Francisco, a producer who recently made her Broadway producing debut with “Maybe Happy Ending,” earning a Tony Award along the way. From hearing the first notes of “The Lion King” at age three to working behind the scenes to bring Broadway magic to life, Clarissa shares the journey of turning a lifelong dream into reality.
Clarissa shares her exciting career journey so far, from following a childhood dream of working in theater to making her Broadway producing debut with “Maybe Happy Ending,” for which she earned a Tony Award for Best Musical. She talks about the twists and turns along the way, the risks she took to pursue her passion and the people who supported her throughout the journey.
She also reflects on how her Tri Delta experience shaped the confidence she brings to her career today, from trusting her instincts and owning her ideas to understanding the power of meaningful friendships and women supporting women.
Hear her responses to some fun, rapid-fire questions and learn what’s next for her! This conversation is a reminder that big dreams are often built one step, one connection and one brave decision at a time. Clarissa’s story will inspire you to follow your own path, stay open to unexpected opportunities and believe in what’s possible.
[A Broadway Journey with Clarissa Cueva]
This transcript was created using automated technologies and may contain errors.
Welcome back to another episode of our Let's Talk Tri Delta podcast. My name is Lexi Leggs and I am a proud Tri Delta from our Delta Epsilon chapter at Millican University and currently serve Tri Delta as our Chapter Success Manager for Operations. I am super excited to kick things off today with Clarissa Cueva from our Epsilon Rho chapter at the University of San Francisco. Since hearing the first note of The Lion King on stage at just three years old, Clarissa knew that she wanted a career in theater, though maybe not in the traditional sense, which we're going to jump into that in just a moment. Her journey is truly one of turning your dreams into reality. From working her way into Broadway, and helping to make the magic happen as an assistant producer, Clarissa has built an incredible career behind the scenes. And most recently, she made her Broadway producing debut with Maybe Happy Ending, which helped her to take home a Tony Award along the way. Wow, that is so exciting. Congratulations, Clarissa, and welcome. We are so excited that you're here. How are you doing today? I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here and just a conversation with you all yeah yes so exciting to hear about these incredible accomplishments and we definitely have some time to get to that but before we jump into that i kind of want to take a step back and look at your collegiate experience and starting off you went to the University of San Francisco can you tell us a little bit more about how you decided to attend that university Absolutely. So growing up, I was really close with my aunt on my dad's side. And she would graciously fly me and my sister and my cousin out during our summertime. And we would do like a week up there with her in San Francisco. And so over the summers of like, maybe from the ages of eight to, I want to say, like 16 we would just go out there for a week in the summertime and we just spend some time with our aunt and it was just like the loveliest thing ever and when it came to applying to schools i knew that i wanted to apply to whatever i could up in the bay area and then i found out i was accepted to the university of san francisco and it truly is just such a beautiful campus and in the heart of the city and i was like this is the place that i would like to be and so that was one of my main motivating factors for going to that school. Yeah. Yes, absolutely. I can definitely agree. I am a Midwesterner myself. And so the University of San Francisco is actually one of the chapters that I visited twice when I was a chapter development consultant. And I fell in love with the Bay Area because of that, probably more because of the food, but it was both. It was a great experience. I love San Francisco and Bay Area. Now tell us a little bit about your journey into Tri Delta and joining your chapter there. Absolutely. So I did not join my freshman year as most traditionally do. I joined my sophomore year. The only reason I didn't really join freshman year was because I just wasn't sure if it was something that I wanted to do. I mean, I feel like you kind of hear like stereotypes about Greek life and I was just like, I don't know if that's for me. And then sophomore year, two of my roommates were considering doing it. And they're like, let's just all try it together and see. If it's something that we like and so we all ended up going through the recruitment process together and honestly right when i walked into the tri-delta room the very first day i just immediately felt so comfortable and so at peace and i think that just you know speaks volumes to our sisterhood and it's just it was one of those things where like i personally was like i don't think like it's ever gonna like work out for me and to just like walk in and feel like that wave like rush over me was like was the most amazing experience and I'm just really happy that I ended up doing going through this whole process and it's allowed me to meet the most incredible people and create the most amazing connections and I'm just I'm really happy to be a Tri Delta. Yes, I love that. I love that we weren't really looking for it, but it just happened upon us. I also didn't join Tri Delta in a traditional way, but obviously have been drinking all the Tri Delta Kool-Aid ever since. Definitely. Like my parents had to tell me that you had to pay for it. I had no idea. So it has now become an incredible aspect and a huge part of my life. So I couldn't agree more. It's such a special sisterhood. I love that. So is there anything that you've learned during your Tri Delta experience that you would take with you into your life and your career now? Absolutely. I really think Tri Delta helped me lean into my confidence and learning how to own and trust my gut and all the decisions that I make. And I think it's also because of the support system that I had gained through this sisterhood. And I think it's just been really nice over the years to realize that. the relationships that i've made and the values that I learned while being in the chapter on campus is to just own my confidence and own that when like whoever the person you are when you walk into your room and like people are going to be attracted to that person people are going to admire like your drive and your perseverance and i think that's something that i've definitely learned there and continue to take on with me and it's it's been nice it's been great yeah Yes, I love that. I love that. Have perfect confidence. We were just talking about it here with the CDCs and training and how it doesn't necessarily mean that you are perfect. It just means that you are confident in yourself. And I think I agree. Our sisters bring so much of that into us. I love that you shared that with us today. So let's shift gears a little bit and start talking about your career experience. So you've had this big dream ever since you were three, right? And then you started to slowly make those dreams into a reality. You graduated from school, you started working in theaters in Los Angeles. What was that like and what did you learn from that experience? Sure. So to kind of go back a little bit. So the whole thing with Lion King at the age of three, my mom loves to tell me that she was taking me and my sister to go see the Lion King at our home theater in Los Angeles, which is called the Hollywood Pantages Theater. And I was crying the whole time. And then once I got there and we sat down in our seats and the show was about to start, I immediately like stopped crying and my face just dropped. And I was just so enamored with whatever was happening in front of me. And I think that Obviously, at age three, I don't know these things, but I feel like part of me knew that whatever was happening was something like so beautiful and so magical. And like that just had to be in my life for years to come. And so when I first or when I turned 16, the first job I applied to was to be an usher at the Hollywood Pantages Theater. I didn't get the job, which was totally fine. Then the summer going into college, I applied again just to have a summer job there. Didn't get it. Totally fine. And then. when theaters were starting to open up again post-COVID, I was like, certainly they can't reject me a third time, right? Third time's the charm. And so I applied again to be an usher and I finally got the position. And it was just the most incredible like full circle moment because growing up, I like, and to this day, I still go to that theater to go see shows. And it was just finally like the most amazing thing to be able to be a part of the legacy that happens there and then in addition to that i started to have a lot more exposure into the theatrical space outside of just like front of house and so i would volunteer with the marketing department when we had our big opening night red carpets for the shows that had longer um periods of like housing there and so that really opened my eyes to i guess it just never hit me that theater and like Broadway needs like marketing which is kind of a silly thing to think about now because Obviously, marketing is pretty relevant everywhere. And so it was nice to kind of have that, I guess, like eye opening moment and to realize I do want to try and pursue a career in the theatrical space, whatever that means. And I was like, one of the things that I know I really love or would like to expand my horizons on is moving to New York and trying to figure out a career out there. And so I. at the time i was ushering there and then i was also a barista at starbucks and then i picked up a third job as a merchandise seller with live nation and just working a bunch of concerts and events instead of selling merchandise and i was able to save a lot of money within the first like or within like four or five months and then i was like you know what i'm just gonna do it i let my parents know i was like listen i'm gonna do this and they're like you know what we can't stop you have fun like figure it out right And then I made my way out to New York and here I am now. And I, so I was able, luckily I was able to transfer with Starbucks to a location just on the street from my very first apartment. And as I was. Figuring all that out, I was also applying to things left and right, left and right. Then I finally got a job offer to be an assistant producer at a theatrical producing company. It wasn't initially what I wanted to do because, as I mentioned, I wanted to go in the marketing space. However, I knew that it was at least a step in the right direction and to have the exposure to the theatrical space and just to see if this is truly something that I can see my career being. in and it was the most amazing experience and like I've continued to learn so much over the years and it's just I mean for me when I think of producing I just had always imagined it as maybe something I would do down the line when I had like more money of my own to put into productions that um are coming to Broadway or off Broadway and I think it was just truly like a big learning experience because at least for me I didn't realize like half the things that go into making a broadway show or an off-broadway show like it truly is like such a colossal feat and to get to see and like learn how everything is done and all the different moving parts is truly just like it's amazing and i just feel so lucky that to have even been like a small part of that and continue to be a small part of that and it's yeah it's been so it's been so great Yes, I love that. That is such an incredible story. I love the mix of the lessons of the perseverance, right? I think it's ironic that you got it on your third try with the usher job. It's something about tri-deltas and threes. But also those logistical lessons that you learned, right? The importance of marketing right behind you. You have your posters there, like proof there, right? But marketing is so integral in the theater world and in that space. So that is incredible. And then, of course, the jump across to New York City. Our big theater stories always start off that way. You know, you get to NYC and we're going to make it big. Can you walk us through the different roles that you held in NYC? Because we really want to know about the path that led you to this Tony Award winning co-producing role that you had. What were those experiences like? What does the co-producer do? Sure. So in addition to having that previous like starbucks job i also um picked up another merchandising job but this time merchandising for a specific theaters and so for me like i knew even if i wasn't going to get a job right away from moving because i didn't land this producing job until after six months of moving to new york so within those six months i was like i need to find something that gets like my theater bug like going and so i found a job at like selling merchandise at theaters and that was just really like the one thing that i was like okay This, while it may not be working for me right now in terms of like me not finding like a job right away, at least I have this kind of alternative where it's like I'm still involved in this space and still involved in, yeah, in the theatrical space. And I mean, to this day, like I still work part time in merchandise because it's just so fun to like be at all these like different shows. Like right now we're working on Cats the Jellicle Ball and Moulin Rouge and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. so it's fun to just be exposed to all these different people and just getting to eat my favorite thing about working merchandise is saying like all the younger people coming into the audience and half the time it's like their first time seeing a broadway show and it's just the most like magical thing to like have a little moment of exchange of just like this like creative energy i guess and yeah but What does a co-producer do? A co-producer essentially helps raise money or invest money of their own into a Broadway production. Broadway is a very big beast and it definitely costs a lot more money to put on a Broadway show than I ever imagined. And so a lot of it is just communicating with people that are already involved in the industry or people that are wanting to break in the industry and just essentially presenting them with a show or something that you're passionate about improving and having this conversation to be like i think this is so special and i think it is something that we would love to like bring to the world and have more exposure and like It's just inviting people to be part of something bigger than themselves. And so at my assistant producing job that I had, it was a lot of helping find investors for Maybe Happy Ending specifically. So my journey with Maybe Happy Ending is that so I was working as an assistant producer at my company and me and my colleague at the time were. helping find investors for the show and we were able to find enough people interested or just as passionate as we were about the project um to help bring maybe happy ending to broadway and because of this we were credited as co-producers and so when you're credited as a co-producer your name is put above like the title when you get to when you open a playbill that you see like the title of the show and then above it shows like all the names and these are all like the producers and then all the cast is under and everything and then when you go see a show as well outside they have a big house board and your name is on the house board as well and then you also get a little playbill bio in the book which is super fun and then when award seasons come around you because you are credited as part of the show then you kind of get all the perks that the show gets so when there's a lot of different um awards that happen throughout the season so there's like the drama desk and the drama league and the outer critic circle and all of those um Yeah, you become basically like a nominee when if your show is nominated, you are also considered a nominee and then you get to win all these accolades if the show is successful. But I think what's really unique about Maybe Happy Ending is that when we first opened, obviously we knew we had something so special and we just wanted the world to be welcomed into Seoul, Korea, which is where Maybe Happy Ending is set. It was not doing as well as we thought it would initially, which is totally fine because after a few months, I think the word of mouth started to get a bit stronger and a bit stronger. And then before we knew it, it was just like the one show that everybody was wanting to come to see. And it was we were getting such high praises. from people in the industry, outside of the industry. And then as the awards started to come out, we were starting to be nominated for everything under the sun. And it was just the most incredible thing to see something so small, maybe not gonna make it to become like this huge thing and the one that everybody was like, oh, it's a no brainer that they're gonna win this, that they're gonna win this and this and this. And then when the Tony Awards came around, which is obviously the Biggest of the big awards in the theatrical space. We were nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. And we ended up winning six. And one of them being Best Musical. And so because of that, I walked away also as a Tony winner for co-producing Maybe Happy Ending, which is honestly still like the... thing to think about because it's like I had always imagined and written in like my journals and my manifestation journals like one day I'm gonna like just work on Broadway or one day I'm gonna have a Tony Award and it was just something that I was always hoping would happen but I never thought it would happen I guess at the speed that it did and I mean to this day it's just it's still such an a wild thing to accept but i'm very grateful and very happy to have been even like a small part of maybe happy ending and to just have this like beautiful thing to celebrate the show and like i just i don't know i'm so happy that maybe happy ending is still running and people are still able to come experience the magic of the belasco theater here in New York City. And now we're going on tour starting in August. And it's exciting because now the rest of the country gets to experience the magic of maybe happy ending. And so I'm excited to continue to see how the show grows and how the show continues. And it's just exciting, once again, to know that I'm just a small part of that. And it's really nice. Yeah. absolutely that's an incredible story and it sounds like you had more than just a small part by any means To advocate for the show's existence and to promote it, to promote something that you believed in, I think is just truly incredible. And I would ask what it means to you, but you've clearly shared how grateful and inspiring this has been. And I mean, just to already check off something you've been manifesting for, it's like, what's next? I mean, I need some of that good luck and what you're doing over there. You are great at it. I love to hear those accomplishments. Again, congratulations. I've said it a few times, but I just think that's so incredible. Thank you. Yes. What are you doing now? So now I am happy to say that I am working in the marketing space for Broadway. I'm finally doing the thing that I wanted to be doing. So I'm now working at an ad agency that specializes in Broadway shows, other live entertainment spaces and cultural institutions, more specifically on the partnership side of things. So it's a lot of brand activations and events. but i love that i'm finally getting to be working in the specific sector of the broadway and theatrical space that i was always like pushing for um but i'm also you know still keeping my eye out on things and seeing what is being developed and what's being worked on i love reading a new script every now and then it's super nice that because i have this connection to maybe happy ending and had that previous connection to the producing space that i'm Luckily, like still invited to industry presentations and I get reached out to by new creatives that are working on pieces in development. And so it's nice to be able to still have that exposure to see if it's eventually down the line. I do want to go back into the producing space. And so, yeah, that's what's going on with me now. I love to keep it busy. That sounds grand. And it also sounds like you've got a connection between your current role, your producing work and Tri Delta through a friend named Tina. Can you tell us about that? Absolutely. So shout out Tina. So I met Tina at my producing job and she was just one of my former colleagues. And there's a couple of decades between us and age for sure. But she truly is like. one of my best friends out here and one of the closest people that are, or nicest and closest people that I've met since moving out here. And it was funny because one day I came into the office and on my keys, I still have my little like tri-delta like key chain. And I put my keys on my desk and she walks over to me and she goes, Clarissa. And I go, what's up, Tina? And she goes, you're a Tri Delta too. And I go, Tina, there's no way you're a tri-delta. She goes, yes. I was a Tri Delta at UCLA. She's like, I still am technically as an alum. I was like, no, for sure. And I think that was just like the funniest thing because we were both like giggling about it. And I was like, no wonder I like you so much, Tina. And she goes, I think you would have liked me regardless. I was like, no, I totally would have. But it's been so nice to just have somebody that, you know, I guess quote unquote gets it. And it's just, she has been somewhat of like a, like an older aunt like grandmotherly figure to me and she's just been truly somebody that like from day one of working there we just had just like this like unspoken like strong connection I mean we're both from california so we have that going for us as well but it was just something that we were just like like linked at the hip i guess you could say and she we reach out to each other from time to time now that i'm i don't see her every day it's been nice to still have that communication with her and make plans to have like go see shows or go get dinner and stuff so it's nice to have our own version of like little delta dates um but yes i just i'm so happy that that job brought us together and that the sisterhood still keeps us like in each other's lives and I just know and pray and hope that she will continue to be in my life until until the end you know and so like she is just I just love her so much so if you're listening Tina shout out love you oh I love that yeah shout out to Tina making the big world and big NYC feel a little bit more personal and connected I know that's so impactful and I love the little moments where you meet someone randomly you're like you're a Tri Delta I'm a Tri Delta too it's so fun so no it's amazing um even like last night so I was um getting dinner with a friend shout out alexa alexa is also a Tri Delta from the university of alabama chapter um but she was just so we went to go get dinner and then I posted on my instagram story like delta dates forever and i had three people that i've like known since moving or like met um in new york that like swiped up on my story and we're like oh my gosh i'm a Tri Delta too oh my gosh i'm a Tri Delta too and i was like you guys like this is such a small world i love it um so it's been that's like been one of the coolest things too is to know that obviously it's not just like in one space it's like national and like wherever i go now it's like i find somehow find myself finding a tridelta sister and it's like the most amazing thing to know that you know they're all it's always going to be a part of my life and like i wouldn't have it any other way and it's i've met some of my best friends throughout this chapter and or throughout not this chapter the sisterhood i should say and it's just it's been the coolest thing too and like one of my my plus one for like my big maybe happy ending opening night was like one of my best friends named jennifer who i met and tried elsa and it's just like it's the coolest thing to know that these girls and this sisterhood will be in my life forever. And I just, I wouldn't have it any other way. And I'm just so happy that I, you know, made the choice to participate in recruitment and like find, find a second home, find a third home, a third place. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. No, absolutely. It really is a gift that just keeps on giving for a lifetime with all of the different connections that we make in the relationships that we foster. So I can say more beautifully myself. I love that. Do you have any advice for others that you would be willing to share specifically about following their dreams? Totally. I think the most important thing, and I'm sure we hear it all the time, is just learning to be okay with trusting your gut. I know a lot of people tell us to trust our gut and go with our instincts, but I do think it is a little bit challenging to do that because at least for me, I'm always second guessing a lot of things, but I think it's important to know that. you feel a little bit more towards one thing for a reason and I think it's important to just sit in it and own it and just trust your gut and go for it because you never know what's going to happen and sure it feels like scary to do or to feel that way but it's important to just to just go for it and just really own it and then if it ends up not going your way like that's completely fine and being able to like accept that that's okay that it didn't work out the way that you initially thought. but at least you tried. And I think that's one of the most important things. And I think that's just how we grow as people is just like putting our all into something and maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't. But if it doesn't, then we just like keep going and we try again and we try again. And I think it's important to just go for it. Yeah, that's been out there. No, absolutely. I love that. I think having that trust in yourself, that faith, faith in your instincts is always so crucial when trying to step into something new or just navigating life in general. So very beautiful advice. OK, I know we've been having a great conversation. We're going to keep having some more fun with quick rapid fire just to help our listeners learn a little bit more about you. So you said you worked at Starbucks. What is your favorite Starbucks drink to make? okay i really liked making an iced caramel macchiato which has some vanilla syrup at the bottom your milk of choice your ice and then you put the you pour the shots on top but my favorite thing about a caramel macchiato is of course like the caramel drizzle on top and you're taught as a starbucks barista to do it in a crosshatch at the top so i was always it was always my favorite thing to just do like the little crosshatch of like caramel drizzle at the top but also i just like loved when people would come in with these like crazy like drink recommendations from social media. And it was just fun to like do something out of the ordinary and not follow like the specific like recipe that we had. So I was like, I love when I just got to play. Yeah. Yeah. The TikTok drinks were definitely some interesting ones I've seen there. Exactly. Yeah. I'm glad you love them. Besides the Lion King, what is your favorite Broadway show? My favorite Broadway show that I haven't seen is spring awakening. I haven't seen like an actual full size production of spring awakening, but it is coming to off Broadway in the fall. So I'm super excited to finally get to see like a fully realized production of it. And my favorite show that I have seen is probably the once on this Island revival that happened in, I believe 2016. Yeah, I really liked it. And then of course I'm going to shout out, maybe happy ending. Yeah, I love that. Yes, absolutely. Once on this island is such a good show. Best coffee shop in NYC. That seems a little tough, but I do like this one place around the corner from where I live. It's called St. Kilda. Yeah, they have a delicious dirty time. I love a dirty time. Yeah. OK, another hard one. Best bagel in NYC. Okay, so mine's a little bit unique only because I am gluten free. So I have to go places that serve a gluten free bagel. But there's this amazing bakery called Modern Bread and Bagel. And they have, it's seasonal, but they have like a chocolate chip bagel. And they also have a cinnamon raisin bagel that they do on the standard, but those two are really delicious. So if I'm going for just like a regular bagel with cream cheese, I will go there. However, if I'm going for like a bacon, egg and cheese situation, I do love this one place called broad nosh bagels. And yeah, they add out like a specific hot sauce that they have on it and it's really good. Yeah. Okay. Now I am really hungry. I love that. That sounded so good. Thanks for playing along with the rapid fire. What is next for you in your career and just life? So I definitely want to continue to grow in the marketing space and just be exposed to all the new things that happen and come our way at the agency. But I think it's been really nice to just. just started at the new job that i have like six months ago so it's been nice to just kind of step into the world and be exposed to new things and start learning a lot and keep learning so i just want to keep learning and growing in that field specifically um and also i really just do like the merchandising of it all i mean it's just fun to have my own like group of friends that i've made there and just like hang out with them from time to time because while we are doing this job it is also nice that we get to have some down time to create these like friendships and just have fun with them so i would love to like keep doing that every so often and then as i mentioned previously i think just kind of keeping my eye out and keeping um My ears peeled for like whatever's coming up because I think eventually down the line, I would like to invest in something of my own or help maybe even continue to co-produce or even lead produce something of my own in the future. Yeah. So we'll see. I don't know. The sky's kind of the limit, I guess. So I'm really open to everything. I feel like I kind of reached like one of like the biggest things that I wanted. And so it's kind of just like, oh, like what can I do now? Or like, what can I do? That's like, yeah. I'm here for the ride and I'm having a good time. I do see myself staying in New York for the foreseeable future. We'll see. I love that. Yes, I love that. Go with the flow and just take what comes. And it's gotten you so far already, just accepting different experiences. So I can't wait to see what comes up next for you and your journey. And it has been truly so much fun learning more about you and your job, your career journey, and all of the endeavors that you've had, your perseverance in the fun ways that Tri Delta has popped up along the way. I think that's always really special and something that I think we all hold near and dear in our lifetime membership. So thank you so much. spending that time with me to share a little bit more about you. To our audience, we always ask that you please like, subscribe, and rate our podcast. We love five-star ratings. Thank you all so much for joining us. And until next time, feel to love. Bye. Bye.