Yes, Heléne Yorke Is on the Hottest New TV Show, The Other Two; No, She Still Can't Face Sutton Foster

If you’re the kind of die-hard Broadway theatergoer who sees a show when it’s new and hot, you’ve probably enjoyed the delightful musical-theater stylings of Heléne Yorke. Perhaps as mob gal Olive Neal in Bullets Over Broadway for a handful of months in the spring of 2014. Or as Evelyn, the fiancé of a serial killer, in American Psycho for a handful of weeks in the spring of 2016. Or maybe as typist Flaemmchen in Grand Hotel at Encores! for a handful of days in the spring of 2018.

The point is, despite fantastic turns, she hasn’t exactly landed in long-runners. But her career luck has changed with The Other Two, a brand-new Comedy Central series that is earning raves from taste-makers and fans, and has already been picked up for a second season.

“Not to be gross but I’m just so excited about it,” Yorke told Paul Wontorek on Broadway.com’s daily talk show #LiveatFive on February 20. “I think we’re like 92% on Rotten Tomatoes or something. People really love it!”

Yorke stars as Brooke Dubek, a 30-something former dancer struggling to make ends meet along with her actor brother Cary (hilarious newcomer Drew Tarver) when her teen brother Chase (Case Walker) becomes a superstar after his innocent music video goes viral. “We’re the other two loser siblings to our super-dope much littler brother,” she laughs. Bonus: the great Molly Shannon plays mom to the trio and Broadway’s Josh Segarra plays Brooke’s ex (“He’s my Mr. Big, if you will. In the sweetest, dopiest way.”)

The Other Two was created by former Saturday Night Live head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. Although she’s done TV before (most notably a gig on Masters of Sex), Yorke didn’t expect to land the role when she auditioned for it back in 2017. “I was like, ‘They’ll never hire me. There’s no way,’” Yorke remembers. “In my brain, I was like, ‘A cool comedy kid’s gonna get this and I’m just a dorky comedy kid from theater.’ But it worked out!”

Although Yorke has been working pretty steadily since making her Broadway debut as Marty in Grease in 2008, she says she immediately related to Brooke’s struggles. “When I first got to the city, I had no money,” she says. “I was living in Queens amongst boxes and lived in Harlem and didn’t have a couch… I used to go to auditions with bags filled with stuff [so I could] change in Starbucks bathrooms. I used to be on the subway and see people commuting to jobs and being so jealous because they had 401Ks and maybe a cupboard with full spice racks in it. And…furniture!”

Even if she’s now a veteran of three Broadway shows and two national tours, including a solid year playing Glinda in Wicked, Yorke is still the biggest fangirl when it comes to musical-theater divas. She still talks in shock about Laura Benanti saying she liked her work when they met, gets excited talking stage regulars (“Jenn Simard is a genius!” “Big Colella fan!” “For anyone who ‘Tony-votes,’ you should vote for Brooks Ashmanskas!”) and once hid in her dressing room so she wouldn’t have to face the ultimate icon, Sutton Foster.

“She came to see Grand Hotel,” she shares. “I saw her in Thoroughly Modern Millie and she’s a god. I came out of my dressing room and I saw her and I was like—” she gasps. “And I ran into my dressing room. I can’t do it! Don’t ever introduce me to her. I will lose it. I can’t meet her. It’s too much!”

Although Yorke is excited to get back on set with The Other Two for season two this summer, she admits there’s still no thrill like the stage. “I’m so proud of the show,” she says, “but there’s nothing like doing a Broadway show! You show up at a Broadway house and think about who’s been in there before… I remember making my Broadway debut in Grease. I came out and I was supposed to be doing a sexy thing and I just started to cry. Cause there’s nothing like that. And it’s always that way!”

Watch The Other Two on Comedy Central every Thursday at 10:30PM.

Watch the full episode of #LiveatFive below!