California Life Interviews Upcoming Star in 13: The Musical, Frankie McNellis

Will Armstrong had the pleasure of interviewing Frankie McNellis, who stars in Netflix’s 13: The Musical.

13: The Musical is a story of a young boy who’s turning 13. He’s planning his Bar mitzvah right before his parents get divorced.

He has to relocate to Indiana where he meets Lucy, which is the role played by McNellis.

Tell us about your character.

“I play Lucy Hallman, a popular cheerleader who’s a bit of a mean girl and Kendra’s best friend. Living in Indiana, she’s one of the new kids he meets.”

Frankie shared she was excited for people to watch the musical because you’ll “learn a lot more about her when you see the movie.”

Your role is the popular or “mean girl” character type. As an artist, how did you avoid that stereotype?

“One of the things about working on this project was getting to work closely with the director and the writer, Tamra Davis and Robert Horn.”

Frankie praised her work experience with them, sharing how they gave her engaging insights into Lucy’s character and how her home life troubles formed her into a girl who is determined to achieve her goals.

Lucy may make mistakes, but she moves past them.

Netflix’s 13: The Musical is based on Broadway’s Musical of the same name. The music was composed by Jason Robert Brown.

Did you get to work with Jason Robert Brown, and if so, what was that like?

“Yes! He is so amazing and a musical genius.”

Frankie was so excited to meet Jason in person that she “wanted to cry on the inside.”

The Broadway musical had stars like Ariana Grande and Elizabeth Gillies. What’s it like to be performing at this level?

“I didn’t expect it to happen so fast. I knew I’d get here one day, I just didn’t know how long it would take.”

Frankie shared how she’s been singing and dancing since she was a baby, and always knew she wanted to work in Entertainment. She feels “blessed” to be where she is today.

What’s next? What’s your dream?

“I really want to be Ariana Grande.”

As a young performer, Frankie hopes her career goes in the same direction as the global popstar sensation, whose career started out in this same musical.

Frankie shares how she wants to be a worldwide performer who sells-out on tours while also continuing her acting career.

Check out Frankie McNellis’s full interview with Will Armstrong in the video below: