Ep342 - Alexi Melvin: Broadway Producing and Queer Social Media Influencing

The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

Alexi Melvin is making significant strides in the Broadway community as a producer in shows like "Here Lies Love," "The Outsiders," and "The Notebook". She highlights the struggle of balancing commercial success with artistic bravery, advocating for more support for innovative and risk-taking productions. Growing up with a professional baseball playing dad, she looks back on her journey to finding her calling, how she developed a love for the arts thanks to her mom, and the unwavering support she got from both parents along the way. With almost 100k followers on TikTok, she reflects on her experience with social media, transitioning from queer relatable content to theater-focused posts, and how her audience has positively received this shift. She also delves into the role of social media in modern theater marketing, and how shows like "The Outsiders" leverage platforms like TikTok to reach more audiences. As more and more shows feature queer stories and diverse casting like "The Notebook" and "Illinois", she stresses the need for more queer representation on stage and the challenges of achieving this in an industry dominated by big-budget musicals. Alexi opens up about her journey with pronouns and gender identity, sharing her transition from they/them to she/they and the importance of creating a safe environment for self-exploration. Whether it’s producing or posting on social media, she encourages aspirants to channel their “fan girl energy” and not shy away from doing what you're a fan of.

Alexi Melvin is a multi-Tony Award-nominated Broadway producer for her work on “Illinois” and “The Outsiders”. She has also done work on the producing teams of “Here Lies Love” and “The Notebook”. A writer and actor who takes the term multi-hyphenate to an all-new level, she is a proud member of and advocate for the LGBTQ-plus community and is deeply involved with type one diabetes organizations such as JDRF and Beyond Type 1. She has notable voice work in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, onscreen appearances in “Time Out of Mind”, and “Quarter”, and a significant presence as an LGBTQ-plus creator on TikTok with almost 100,000 followers.

Connect with Alexi:

• TikTok: @theonlylex
• Instagram: @thealexijames

Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

• Support the podcast on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
• YouTube: YouTube.com/TheTheatrePodcast
• Threads, Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
• TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast
• Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
• TheTheatrePodcast.com
• My personal Instagram: @alanseales

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