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WHEELING -- A crazy life in New York theater has gotten even crazier for Wheeling native Megan Chacalos, ever since a couple of posts on TikTok catapulted her to a new level of popularity. She's back in the Friendly City this weekend with a new show telling the tale of that rise.
"Megan Chacalos: Kinda Famous" makes its debut Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15-16, at Towngate Theatre. Both shows begin at 7 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online at online.com.
Chacalos has been working hard since arriving in New York, building her resume as a Broadway producer and off-Broadway actress. Then she gained a break in an unlikely venue. A couple of TikToks telling the tale of her mishaps applying an olive oil hair mask have amassed more than 80 million views combined.
That exposure has led to many more opportunities, she said.
"Oh my goodness, it's been a complete whirlwind," she said. "I feel like every day I wake up and there's new emails in my inbox that are opportunity-based or collaborations or brand deals or requests to audition for certain projects. People will find me on social media and go 'oh my God, she's an actor. Let's get her in the room.'"
For so long, she said, she felt the need to emulate other stars like Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, Liza Minnelli or Sutton Foster in order to be seen in the Broadway community.
What she found out was her biggest breakthrough came by just being herself.
Her show dives into that lesson, that being yourself will take you further than copying others.
"It kind of held me up for a long time, because I just didn't know what my voice was as an artist, because it was such a mash-up of all these other famous idols," she said. "And then finally, funnily enough, the most success I got was just being my silly self. So that's kind of the moral of the story."
Megan Chacalos
While her Towngate show last year featured a bigger cast, "Kinda Famous" will star Chacalos and her partner Jake Bryan Guthrie, a West Virginia native himself who is currently a working off-Broadway actor.
The show is formatted, Chacalos said, like a variety show of the 1950s or 1960s, with a lineup of guests all being portrayed by Chacalos and Guthrie.
"It's basically the 'Megan and Jake Show,' but we have a few guest appearances from random characters who we also play," she said. "Jake and I have a lot of fun with it."
The show could feature some surprises, Chacalos said, depending on how the audience reacts.
One type of reaction can lead the performance down one path, while another reaction could send it a totally different direction.
"We have lots of fun stories to tell," she said. "We just don't know what shows they're going into."
And while her star continues to rise in New York, Chacalos doesn't forget about her home. Many of her social media posts talk about West Virginia.
The proceeds from this weekend's shows are going to the Open Door Kitchen at St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church and flood victim aid organized by Ohio County schoolteachers.
Chacalos said she is excited for the opportunity to offer a message to her Wheeling audience, that waiting for the right opportunity isn't always enough.
"If people aren't giving you opportunities, you need to show up anyway and show them exactly who you are and what you bring to the table," she said, "so they don't have a choice. They have to be like, 'yep, yep, I see it.'"