Day Off Diary: COME FROM AWAY’s Emily Walton

For many performers, after a long 8-show week, their one day off is time to rest and recharge. This week, we caught up with Emily Walton from Come From Away to spend an afternoon with her. Get to know a bit more about Emily in her #DayOffDiary: 

Hometown? Riverdale (Bronx), New York!

Where might we find you on your day off? In my bed. Or on my couch. Or lying on the floor. I like to lie around. I also have a weekly Monday tradition of doing the New York Times crossword puzzle and trying to beat my own personal record for speed. Right now, it's 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Yes, I am bragging. Oh, also, Conan O'Brien's new podcast episode is released every Monday, so that's a big part of my day as well. 

What was your first ever role? Molly in Annie when I was 6 years old at the Riverdale YM-YWHA!

If you weren’t an actor, what would you be doing? Therapist. Or full-time songwriter.

If you could describe your experience with Come From Away so far in just one word, what would it be?  Life-changing.

Who are you jamming to on Spotify right now? I listen to Bo Burnham's "Inside" a lot. Also "Obviously" by Lake Street Dive. Maybe this is also a time to do a braggy little shout-out to my own album, "Little Longings," streamable on Spotify! 

What are you binging on TV right now? Oh my god, Love is Blind Season 2. I just finished the reunion episode, so now I have nothing left to live for. 

Read any good books lately? Yes! I just read my castmate Sharon Wheatley's amazing book, "Drive." Highly recommend.

One Instagram account (besides your own, duh), that we need to be following? Good News Movement and What is New York. Mostly any account that is intended to make you laugh and/or feel good. Not scantily clad people who make you feel bad about yourself. :)

Favorite coffee joint in Midtown? What’s your order? I usually go to St. Kilda on 44th between 8th and 9th! It's generally just a plain ol' drip coffee for me; however, sometimes I do get a cortado before the evening show and then I feel CRAZY. I keep doing it though. Not sure why. 

Pickles on your burgers? Yes! I love pickles! I feel we should be talking about pickles way more than we do. I usually forget to buy them at the grocery store. I actually just bought some spicy ones though and I'm SO excited. Anyway, yes, pickles everywhere. Pickles forever!

Pineapple on your pizza? Ugh. I feel like I should say yes. So... yes. (I'm lying).

What flavor of cream cheese on your bagel? Honestly, I love an everything bagel with plain old cream cheese and some sliced cucumber and tomato. AND MAYBE EVEN PICKLES!

What is one show you are dying to see on Broadway right now?  I'd love to see Six! Also, while we're on the subject, I just saw Phantom of the Opera last night for the first time EVER. And it was absolutely insanely epic. Can't believe I waited 34 years.

Favorite musical of all time? Oh man. That's such a tough one. Definitely something in the Sondheim canon. Maybe Into the Woods. I also saw the revival of 42nd Street literally 17 times. My dad was in it, and I just could not get enough of that old-school Broadway pizzazz. I love musicals so much.

You get to perform on stage every night with your uncle Jim Walton, what is that like? I do? Wait, WHAT?! Just kidding. It's really amazing. Because we've been doing the show for a while now, it's easy to take it for granted sometimes. But I am often struck by just how rare and incredible it really is. It's a joy and an honor to be on stage with him every night.

What’s one thing you hope the audience takes away when they come see Come From Away? I think the biggest hope I have for our audiences is that they walk away with a renewed sense of faith in humanity. I know that, when I saw it for the first time, it made me actively want to go out and be kind to other people; I hope that other people experience that feeling as well. It's a powerful thing.

You can catch Emily in Come From Away which is now in performance at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on West 45th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here. For more photos, visit Theatrely on Instagram. All photos by Rebecca J Michelson/Theatrely.