WELCOME BACK!

OVER HERE.

THIS ONE.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

MY NEXT GUEST IS AN ACTOR AND COMEDIAN WHO STARS IN SHOWTIME'S

"WORK IN PROGRESS."

>> I THINK PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE.

>> NO ONE.

YOU'RE NOT SLEEPING WITH ANYONE.

>> NO.

BUT IN SEVEN HOURS AND 30 MINUTES, I WILL BE SLEEPING WITH

ONE.

>> OKAY.

IN SEVEN HOURS AND 42 MINUTES, IS THAT WHEN WE MIGHT BE

EXCLUSIVE?

I MEAN, WOULD YOU EVER BE EXCLUSIVE?

CAN YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF WITH ME DOING THAT, BEING EXCLUSIVE WITH

ME?

YOU JUST DON'T ANSWER?

BECAUSE I AM REALLY ABOUT TO SPIRAL LIKE A ( BLEEP ).

>> STEPHEN: PLEASE WELCOME ABBY MCENANY!

( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )

HI!

SO NICE TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW.

>> IT'S SO NICE TO BE HERE, AND I'VE GOT TO SAY, I JUST MET

ANDREW YANG, AND HE'S ALREADY MAKING IT WORK.

>> Stephen: WOW!

YEAH.

HE SAID, YOU KNOW, FOR YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU INSTALLMENTS.

I MEAN, ANYTHING WORKS, MR. YANG.

I DON'T KNOW, BIG FAN OF HIS, ALREADY.

I DON'T KNOW, BIG FAN OF HIS, ALREADY.

>> Stephen: WHEN I -- WHEN I FOUND OUT YOU WERE ON THE

SHOW -- >> YES.

>> Stephen: -- FIRST OF ALL, EVERYBODY IN THE BUILDING WAS

REALLY EXCITED.

WE'RE BIG FANS OF YOUR SHOW.

>> DUDE.

>> Stephen: "WORK IN PROGRESS."

>> THANK YOU.

>> Stephen: AND SOMEBODY SAID, OH, YOU MIGHT KNOW HER BECAUSE

"SECOND CITY" AND "CHICAGO" AND SHE WAS AROUND FOR A LONG TIME

AND YOU GUYS ARE FAIRLY CLOSE IN AGE.

I SAID, I DON'T REMEMBER ABBY.

SO I WENT TO SPEAK TO A COUPLE OF PEOPLE AND EVERYBODY JUST HAD

THE LOVELIEST THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU, THAT NOT ONLY ARE YOU

A FIXTURE OF A CHICAGO IMPROV COMMUNITY BUT THAT YOU'RE SO

WELCOMING AND YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY FEELS WELCOME,

LIKE WHEN THEY COME IN TO A THEATER OR COMMUNITY OR ANY

SITUATION.

>> REALLY?

>> Stephen: AND I FOUND OUT -- THAT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD.

>> THAT'S AMAZING!

>> Stephen: IT COULD BE A LIE.

YOU COULD BE A HORRIBLE PERSON.

>> HONESTLY.

I MIGHT BUT JURY'S OUT.

>> Stephen: AND I FOUND OUT THIS AFTERNOON THAT WE ACTUALLY

HAD MET BEFORE.

>> WE HAD.

YOU WERE MY TEACHER FOR LEVEL FIVE AT "SECOND CITY."

>> Stephen: WOW.

( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> YEAH.

>> Stephen: AND I TAUGHT THERE FOR A FEW YEARS.

>> YEAH.

>> Stephen: AND LET'S GET A REALLY CLOSE SHOT OF THIS.

HERE'S ME RIGHT UP THERE.

>> I'M THERE IN THE LAYNE BRYANT DRESS.

>> Stephen: THERE YOU GO.

THERE YOU GO.

>> I'M WEARING REALLY HEAVY TIGHTS AND DOC MARTINS.

WE ALL HAVE LOOKS.

>> Stephen: I HAD TO LEAVE BEFORE YOUR SHOW, I UNDERSTAND.

>> YEAH.

>> Stephen: SO I NEVER GOT TO GIVE YOU NOTES ON YOUR

PERFORMANCE.

>> THAT'S TRUE.

>> Stephen: OKAY, SO I HAVE MY OLD -- I HAVE MY OLD NOTEBOOK.

>> HERE YOU REALLY MOVE WITH A LOT OF STUFF.

>> Stephen: I DO.

I HAVE A FEW NOTES FOR ABBY M.

>> YEAH.

>> Stephen: PROBABLY YOU.

( LAUGHTER ) IN THE BUS STOP SCENE.

>> YES.

>> Stephen: YOU DID WITH MIKE F.

YOU ORIGINALLY SAID YOU WERE WAITING FOR THE 36th BUS AND

LATER CONTRADICTED THAT BY SAYING THE 22.

>> RIGHT.

>> Stephen: THE SCENE IS GOOD AND THERE IS FUNNY STUFF THERE

BUT THE AUDIENCE IS PAYING ATTENTION EVIDENTLY MORE THAN

YOU ARE SO THEY JUMP OUT OF THE SCENE.

HERE'S THE SECOND ONE.

JUST OBJECT WORK NOTE HERE.

I'M SORRY.

DO YOU HAVE A RESPONSE?

>> NO.

>> Stephen: THIS IS A DIALOGUE.

>> YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU CAN TAKE THE 22 AND 36 AND THEN LIKE

DIVERSITY IT SPLITS OFF SO MAYBE IN MY MIND, HAD GONE OFF, BUT I

DIDN'T TELL ANYBODY ELSE.

>> Stephen: AUDIENCE DIDN'T KNOW.

>> AND OBVIOUSLY PROBABLY NOT.

I'M JUST HOLDING ON.

>> Stephen: SURE.

THIS IS AN OBJECT WORK NOTE.

>> OH, MY GOD IT'S GOING TO BE HORRIBLE.

I'M HORRIBLE.

>> Stephen: NOT AT ALL.

IN THE ICE CREAM SHOP SCENE.

>> YEAH.

>> Stephen: GREAT SCOOPING.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

>> Stephen: I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VANILLA

AND THE ROCKY ROAD.

I SAW THE WHOLE THING, OKAY.

BUT I REALLY WANTED TO BE CLEAR, IN YOUR PERFORMANCE, I WANTED TO

SEE HOW HIGH THE WOULDN'T COUNTER WAS BECAUSE SOMETIMES

YOU'RE PUTTING THE THING UP HERE AND DOWN HERE, AND AGAIN, IT

POPS OUT OF THE SCENE.

>> I HAVE WAS SURPRISED YOU WERE IN IT THAT LONG.

>> Stephen: YEAH.

HONESTLY, I THOUGHT THE CAREER HIGH LIGHT OF MY LIFE WAS

TO BE ON THIS SHOW, IT'S THAT YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN VANILLA AND ROCKY ROAD.

TAKE TOO MUCH.

>> Stephen: THE SPICE GIRLS REFERENCE IN THE MALL SCENE WAS

GREAT.

SPICE GIRLS WILL ALWAYS BE TIMELY.

NEVER STOP DOING THAT.

>> THANK YOU IS THAT AND MY OVERALL NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF

THIS IS I THINK ABBY'S TALENT IS BEST UTILIZED ON A PREMIUM CABLE

SERIES PROBABLY IN EIGHT PARTS THAT ALLOWS HER TO EXPLORE THE

ISSUES OF GENDER IDENTIFICATION REGARDLESS OF GENDER

IDENTIFICATION.

DOES THAT RESONATE WITH YOU ON ANY LEVEL?

( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> EVERYBODY SAYS YOU'RE AHEAD

OF YOUR TIME, SIR.

THAT'S AMAZING.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

>> Stephen: LET ME ASK YOU, WHO IS, LIKE, YOUR INSPIRATION

FOR COMEDY?

WHO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER, LIKE, THAT'S SOMEBODY I WANTED TO BE

LIKE.

>> FOR ME, COMEDY'S BEEN A LIFE SAVER.

>> Stephen: SURE, BACK AT CHA.

RIGHT.

AND STEVE MARTIN WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON AND HERO TO ME

COMEDICALLY AND ACTUALLY REALLY HELPED ME AND MY FATHER.

MY FATHER AND I AND OUR FAMILY, YOU KNOW, FAMILY'S BEEN THROUGH

HARD TIMES AND WE WERE TOGETHER AND WE WENT TO THE RECORD STORE

AND BOUGHT TWO, THEY WERE ON CASSETTES AT THE TIME, BUT,

ANYWAYS, WE HAD THEM ON L.P.s.

AND THEN WE WENT AND SAT AND WE LISTENED TO THESE LADIES, THESE

STEVE MARTIN THINGS, AND WE JUST WERE SILENT.

I THINK I WAS, LIKE, IN FIFTH GRADE AND --

>> Stephen: AND YOU COULD BE WITH EACH OTHER.

>> AND HE'S AN AMAZINGLY HILARIOUS PERSON AND WE JUST --

AND THERE WERE SOME DRUG REFERENCES I DIDN'T GET, MAYBE

STILL DON'T, BUT, ANYWAYS, WE SHARED THIS THING AND IT WAS

VERY HEALING AND SO STEVE MARTIN JUST HOLDS THE PLACE IN MY HEART

AND MY BRAIN.

>> Stephen: WELL, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT YOU'RE DOING THAT FOR

OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW WHO NEED IT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

WORK IN PROGRESS AIRS SUNDAYS ON SHOWTIME.

ABBY McENANY, EVERYBODY.

WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.