# “The Year of the Fire Horse” with Melissa Barrera

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/drama-with-connor-dylan-macdowell-349979/the-year-of-the-fire-horse-with-melissa-barrera
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/drama-with-connor-dylan-macdowell-349979/the-year-of-the-fire-horse-with-melissa-barrera.md
Podcast: [DRAMA. with Connor & Dylan MacDowell](https://stenobird.com/podcast/drama-with-connor-dylan-macdowell-349979)
Published: 2026-05-13T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.com/podcasts/thedramapodcast/2818263
Audio file: https://content.rss.com/episodes/337500/2818263/thedramapodcast/2026_05_13_01_41_42_1bb775cf-ad3b-4add-9ee0-e2871d273925.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/drama-with-connor-dylan-macdowell-349979/episodes/the-year-of-the-fire-horse-with-melissa-barrera
Duration seconds: 2855

## Resource

Connor and Dylan are joined by Melissa Barrera (Titanique, In the Heights) for a brand new episode of DRAMA. with Connor & Dylan MacDowell. Melissa is an actor, singer, activist, producer, final girl, and now… Broadway star! She can currently be seen starring as Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanique at the St. James Theatre. She spills on sailing the Ship of Dreams, getting to be funny onstage, and working with Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, Deborah Cox, Jim Parsons, and MORE. Visits from Patti LuPone, Melissa’s gaggy Betsey Johnson archival custom opening night dress, and joining the Broadway community are all discussed. This multi-talented star of the Scream franchise dishes on being asked to do Chicago on Broadway, coming to NYC to see shows, and excitement for the Titanique’s upcoming Tonys performance. Having starred as Vanessa in the In the Heights film, Melissa shares stories from the shoot, navigating her mental health on set, and bonding with Anthony Ramos. We get into Melissa’s new production company, writing screenplays, and her dreams of directing. Stick around for chatter on Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago, working with Lin Manuel-Miranda, and starring in Carmen with Paul Mescal. Near, far, wherever you are… you’re gonna gag for this episode of the podcast! Follow Melissa on Instagram Follow DRAMA. on Twitter & Instagram & Tiktok Follow Connor MacDowell on Twitter & Instagram Follow Dylan MacDowell on Twitter & Instagram Subscribe to our show on iHeartRadio Broadway ! Support the podcast by subscribing to DRAMA+ , which also includes bonus episodes, Instagram Close Friends content, and more!

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## Transcript

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