[ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> announcer: from 30 rockefeller plaza in new york, it's "late night with seth meyers." tonight -- shailene woodley. from broadway's "sunday in the park with george," actress annaleigh ashford. co-founder of stand up republic, evan mcmullin featuring the 8g band with brann dailor. ♪ [ chee and applause ] ladies and gentlemen, seth meyers. >> seth: good evening, everybody! i'm seth meyers. this is "late night." how's everybody doing tonight? [ cheers ] yeah. in that case, let's get to the news. last night was another scintillating episode of "the bachelor," and you will never guess who went home. [ light laughter ] the senate confirmed former goldman sachs banker

steve mnuchin as treasury secretary yesterday, and we actually have a picture of president trump congratulating them. there we have it. [ laughter ] so happy, so excited. abc yesterday announced that for the first time, the lead on the next season of "the bachelorette" will be african-american. so if history is any guide, "the bachelorette" after that will be a 70-year-old racist, puppet of russia. [ light laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] big ratings, though. you know that will be big ratings. the head of lithuania's tourism agency has resigned after it was revealed that her department used photos taken in other countries to promote lithuania. [ light laughter ] yeah, i did think this one looked a little suspicious. [ light laughter ] white house staffers have reportedly begun using an encrypted chat app called "confide" that erases messages as soon as they're read. not only that, they've also started erasing national security advisers.

[ light laughter ] while presidents bush, clinton, and obama all opened the white house for public tours the day after their inaugurations, president trump has only had close supporters and family visit since taking office. wow! what's he trying to hide from us? oh, right, right. [ light laughter ] "when are the tours starting? i want to meet the public!" [ applause ] "come to my room." [ laughter ] "eric, no!" [ grunts ] [ light laughter ] oh, god. [ light laughter ] oh, there we go. okay. new hampshire state officials are disputing white house adviser stephen miller's false claims that there was widespread

voter fraud in the state. they're also disputing his claim that if it doesn't put the lotion on its skin, it will get the hose. [ light laughter ] american girl dolls announced a new male character today named logan everett, who is from nashville and plays the drums. and now three of the american girl dolls are pregnant. [ light laughter ] several cars caught fire yesterday at disneyland's main parking garage. "it wasn't me," said one suspect. [ light laughter ] and finally, burger king in israel is selling a so-called adults meal for valentine's day that reportedly comes with a sex toy, which explains why they changed their slogan from "have it your way" to "there's a dildo in this bag!" [ light laughter ] ladies and gentlemen, we have a great show for you tonight! [ cheers and applause ] she is one of the stars of "big little lies" on hbo.

our friend shailene woodley is back on the show. [ cheers and applause ] always so happy to have her here. she is a fantastic actress, and she's starring in the broadway revival of "sunday in the park with george." annaleigh ashford is joining us tonight. [ cheers and applause ] and he is a former independent presidential candidate and co-founder of stand up republican -- stand up republic, excuse me. evan mcmullin is here tonight. [ cheers and applause ] i'm really looking forward to having a conversation with him. before we get to all of that, the trump administration was rocked by scandal on monday when national security adviser, michael flynn, resigned after revelations that he may have secretly discussed u.s. sanctions with the russian ambassador and then lied about it. for more on this, it's time for "a closer look." ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: we're just over three weeks into the trump administration, and we've already got our first major resignation, which means that, in a way, flynn did accomplish something historic. according to the "washington post," he set a record with his resignation as the white house

national security adviser. no one in the 64-year history of the roll had a shorter tenure than his. the average tenure is 2.6 years. flynn was on the job just 24 days. 24 days. i use disposable razors longer than that. [ light laughter ] he didn't even last as long as a david blaine stunt. [ light laughter ] at the rate resignations are happening, trump is going to open his first state of the union address by saying this -- >> and now, i will step down. [ light laughter ] [ cheers ] >> seth: in all seriousness, though -- in all seriousness, now the michael flynn's historic tenure is over, i think it's only appropriate that we take a few minutes to look back on his many highlights as america's national security adviser. ♪ >> good afternoon, everyone. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: now, to be fair to

flynn, he may have broken the law and then lied about it, but it's not like he ever accused any other public official of breaking the law and called for them to be thrown in jail. oh, what, he did? fairly recently? and it's really ironic to watch now? stop talking so you can just show it? [ light laughter ] >> i have called on hillary clinton to drop out of the race! we do not need a reckless president who believes she is above the law! if i did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, i would be in jail today. [ light laughter ] lock her up. that's right. yes, that's right. lock her up! >> seth: i guess that's why flynn's resignation letter was just the phrase "lock me up" written "shining" style on a typewriter. [ light laughter ] now flynn and the trump administration insisted for weeks that flynn did not discuss u.s. sanctions with the russian ambassador when they spoke in december, but the story changed last week when the "washington post" reported that flynn did, in fact, discuss

sanctions, despite the administration's repeated denials. so, after these revelations, did the white house still have confidence in flynn? first up to answer that question, white house policy adviser, stephen miller. >> does the president still have confidence in his national security adviser? >> that's a question that i think you should ask the president, and i look forward to having more discussions about this in the future. >> so, the white house did not give you anything to say, other than that -- >> they did not give me -- >> on general flynn? >> they did not give me anything to say. you cannot -- so, you cannot say -- [ light laughter ] >> asked or -- asked and answered, chuck. >> whether the president still has confidence in his national security adviser? >> it's not for me to tell you what's in the president's mind. that's a question for the president. that's a question for our chief of staf. asked and answered, chuck. >> let me -- >> seth: ugh. [ light laughter ] stephen miller looks like the guy that shows up with a flashlight when teens are getting drunk in a graveyard. [ laughter and applause ] "you kids shouldn't be here." [ light laughter ]

so, miller didn't provide much clarity, which is why on monday afternoon, msnbc turned to another white house official, kellyanne conway. >> general flynn does enjoy the full confidence of the president. >> seth: okay! well, i guess that's it, then. kellyanne conway says flynn enjoys the full confidence of the president. and if there's anyone in the white house you can trust, it's kellyanne con -- >> national security adviser michael flynn has resigned. >> seth: just a reminder, that if kellyanne conway is ever on tv saying, "there isn't a tornado coming," get in the basement! [ laughter and applause ] and then, there's the president, himself. and the question of what the president knew and when he knew it, the justice department apparently warned the white house weeks ago that flynn had talked to the russians about sanctions and then lied about it. and today, white house press secretary sean spicer said the white house has been reviewing the situation for weeks. and yet, just a few days ago when asked about the flynn situation, trump said this. >> what do you make of reports that general flynn had conversations with the russians about sanctions before you were

sworn in? >> i don't know about it. i haven't seen it. what report is that? >> there is a -- >> i haven't -- >> reporting that he talked to you, the ambassador of russia before you were inaugurated about sanctions, maybe trying to -- >> i haven't seen it. i'll look at that. >> seth: trump sounds like a guy who's being told there's a nude scene in a movie he's definitely already watched. [ light laughter ] "oh, is there? huh, well, maybe i'll check that out, for the first time. it'll be the first time." well, today the president finally commented via twitter. and apparently, the problem for him is not that flynn lied, but that we found out about it. trump tweeted, quote, "the real story here is why there are so many illegal leaks coming out of washington. will these leaks be happening as i deal on north korea, et cetera?" all right, first of all, you are the one who conducted highly-sensitive north korea discussions in the dining room of your private club in florida. as "the new york times" reported, "trump and his top aides coordinated their response in north korea's missile tests on saturday night in full view of diners at trump's mar-a-lago resort in florida. the scene was so public, people were posting instagram photos of it."

[ light laughter ] also, look at that face. [ light laughter ] he looks like he's posing for a funny office poster. "you don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps." [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] i just hope that's the same face he makes when he's called in to testify in front of congress. [ light laughter ] now, this morning, republican leaders were suspiciously quiet about the crisis within the president's national security apparatus. why weren't they saying anything? gop congressman chris collins offered this explanation on cnn this morning. >> when you have a man of flynn's stature resign, and in his own letter saying that he misled, maybe even lied to other members of the white house, why is everybody so quiet? >> well, it's valentine's day, and i guess they're having breakfast with their wives. [ light laughter ] >> seth: breakfast with your wife? is not a valentine's day gift. most of those wives probably said, "you want to have breakfast? what did you do?"

[ light laughter ] when republicans did start commenting, many shrugged it off as not a big deal, like arkansas senator tom cotton, who said the flynn resignation was just an example of the trump administration quote, "finding their sea legs." finding their sea legs, which is helpful, because this presidency so far is the perfect [ bleep ] storm. [ laughter ] this has been "a closer look." ♪ [ cheers and applause ] we'll be right back with more "late night," everybody, right after this. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ runs on intel? that ride share? you actually rode here on the cloud. did not feel like a cloud... that driverless car? i have seen it all. intel's driving...the future! traffic lights, street lamps. business runs on the cloud... and the cloud runs on intel. ♪

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♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: welcome back, everybody. please give it up for the 8g band right over there. [ cheers and applause ] also back with us tonight, he's the drummer from the grammy-nominated atlanta based band, mastodon, whose highly anticipated next record, "emperor of sand," is set for a march 31st release. brann dailor is here, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] thank you for being here, brann. now, whenever there's a new president in office, like now, it is not uncommon to hear people voicing all sorts of opinions on the big issues, but not all of those takes are right, so let's take a look at some of the wrong ones. this is "the wrong take." >> "the wrong take." >> i think there should be a government registry for all muslims. i mean, it's the only way we're going to know which ones we still have to buy gifts for.

>> "the wrong take." >> i don't like seeing two dudes kiss. it makes me feel left out. >> "the wrong take." >> paying russian prostitutes to pee on each other? that's disturbing. those jobs should go to american prostitutes. [ light laughter ] >> "the wrong take." >> i believe they should repeal obamacare, like this banana. the peel came off and i re-peeled it. this is what they should do to obamacare. >> "the wrong take." >> we need more podcasts, am i right? [ laughter ] >> "the wrong take." >> listen, if you want to move to this country, you'd better learn our language. and if you want to move away from this country, you'd better unlearn it, brother! >> "the wrong take." >> oh, i would never give up my seat on a bus for a pregnant woman. because i am the bus driver. and also i hate women.

[ laughter ] >> "the wrong take." >> i believe the man should be the head of the household, and the woman should be the arms and the legs, and the dog should be the butt, and it should look like this. [ light laughter ] >> "the wrong take." >> i'm sorry, but donald trump shouldn't be meeting with kanye west. he should be meeting with ja rule, you know, like -- ♪ i only think about you baby girl put it on me yeah ♪ [ light laughter ] >> "the wrong take." [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: "the wrong take," everybody! always important to hear wrong takes as well. now, moving on, if you got a chance to look at the paper this morning, you might have seen there was a new study on migrating tree frogs and -- wait, i'm sorry, i could be wrong here, but i think i smell some smoke, and if i'm right, that can mean only one thing, it's time for "ya burnt!" ♪ >> seth: welcome to the burn zone, everybody. we've got a lot of topics to

sizzle through but not a lot of time. over here is the burner. let's turn on the gas and load her up! whoo! coo-coo-ka-choo! [ light laughter ] first up, ice skating! hey, here's a fun date idea, let's go to the rink sunday, hold hands and break our ankles. [ light laughter ] oh, you've never done it before? it's great! the ground is hard as a rock and they strap knives to your feet. [ light laughter ] oh, and don't worry about being able to stop your momentum, there's always a hard wall you can throw your entire body into. also, to the guy out there skating circles around everyone, i hope you get pushed under a zamboni. you can suck at skating or you can be in the olympics. no one's impressed by the in-between. [ light laughter ] hell is filled with pretty good ice skaters. [ light laughter ] ice skating, better get some more ice, because "ya burnt!"! [ cheers and applause ] magic 8 balls, what's with the vague responses? "outlook cloudy," "ask again later?" if i wanted to hear non-answers to my real concerns, i'd attend a sean spicer press briefing, side-burn sean spicer. >> side burn!

[ light laughter ] >> seth: hey, magic 8 balls, next time i want to know the future, i'll just bend over and ask my own balls. [ light laughter ] they're just as accurate and a lot more fun to shake. [ light laughter ] magic 8 balls, are "ya burnt?" signs point to yes. [ cheers and applause ] chocolate samplers. the best way to tell your special someone, there was a cvs on the way home. [ light laughter ] also, if you love someone so much, shouldn't you know what their favorite candy is? instead, you're making them pour over instructions all weekend like a god damn ikea cabinet. >> milk chocolate outside, creamy [ inaudible ] >> chocolate samplers, like mama always said, "ya burnt!" [ cheers and applause ] mr. clean. during the super bowl, every other product stood up for immigrants. meanwhile, you were like, wanna have sex with mr. clean? [ light laughter ] i've mopped the floor before. it didn't make my wife want to [ bleep ] me. [ light laughter ] also, wake up, judy, he's a handsome bald man with one earring who's in great shape and loves to dance while cleaning. something tells me. you're not his type.

[ light laughter ] sexy mr. clean, "ya burnt!" [ applause ] the uconn women's basketball team, you won your 100th straight game last night, something no team, men or women, has ever done. you won the last four ncaa championships, you're probably going to win your fifth, and i'm pretty sure you could beat the knicks right now. and that's why the uconn women's basketball team, you are this week's unburnable, ascend to safety, huskies. [ cheers and applause ] flowers. my darling, i found the perfect representation of our love, a beautiful thing that will wither and die in a few weeks. why do we give dying plants as a gift? we would never do that with animals. baby, i love you so much, and to prove it, here's a bunch of terminally ill squirrels. [ light laughter ] also, is there any bigger scam than long-stem roses? because that's what every girl likes about roses, the stems. next thing you know, they're going to want you to pony up for extra sharp thorns. >> what a bunch of pricks! [ light laughter ] >> seth: flowers! roses may be red, but you, "ya burnt!" [ cheers and applause ] up next, "volunteer lawyers!" [ buzzer ]

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♪ >> seth: welcome back, everybody. you know our first guest from films like "the fault in our stars," "the spectacular now", and "snowden". starting february 19th, you can see her in the highly anticipated hbo series "big little lies." let's take a look. >> like i'm on the outside looking in.] or like, you know like, i see this life at the moment and it's so wonderful, but it doesn't quite belong to me. make any sense? >> yeah. >> are you following this? >> yeah. >> then, like, i look at you and you're so beautiful. >> that's true. >> and i am not saying that to embarrass you at all, but it is true. you are. and so are you and --. >> i agree. >> and you guys are just right. you're exactly right. for some reason, that makes me

feel wrong, i guess. >> seth: please welcome back to the show our friend, shailene woodley, everybody. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: always so wonderful to see you. >> hi. you, too! >> seth: and congrats on the show. >> thank you. >> seth: as you can tell from the clip, nicole kidman, reese witherspoon. and this is an incredible cast. >> yeah. >> seth: was it fun, inspiring, intimidating to work with actresses like that? >> you know, it wasn't -- i tried not to be intimidated because then you just go into something and you're not getting to know them for who they are as people because you're like, oh my gosh, it's celine from "moulan rouge,". but it was really wonderful. zoe kravitz and i -- we talked about it a lot, because when they found out that we wanted to be a part of it, it was, i can't believe we got shailene woodley and zoe kravitz, and zoe and i are like, are you guys -- what's wrong with you? like, you can't believe we want

to do this, with you? >> seth: yeah, you're nicole kidman, you could pick anyone! >> exactly! >> seth: the other thing about this show is there are a ton of child actors, there are a lot of kids in the show. is that -- what's it like to work with someone -- obviously we talked about working with people that you maybe look up to -- that you would physically look down to? how was the kids? [ light laughter ] >> there was a lot of looking down. >> seth: is it inspiring to work with kids? is it -- they want to be actors? >> it's amazing. well, luckily, none of the kids' moms were stage moms, or dads. >> seth: oh, that's good, yeah. >> because then that can actually get into some pretty tricky territory. but the kids were wonderful! they're so inspiring. they're so present. if you're doing a scene, and somehow, they're aware that they were acting and they could follow direction. but then they'd start picking their nose because they had, like, a booger or they had to like scratch their neck. and it was just so -- there's a wonder in kids that i feel like we forget about. and so, working with them for six months straight and the patience that that takes was really beautiful. >> seth: i like the next time if my wife catches me picking my

nose, i'm going to say, "i'm present." [ laughter ] this what this is, is me being present, yeah. >> i'm using my imagination. i'm tapping into my inner child. >> seth: stop scratching your neck! i am being a child. i have wonder. enjoy my wonder. i want to talk -- so, you're the actor who plays your son, did you know that he's sort of a youtube star in the broadway community? >> he is a youtube star. >> seth: he's 8 years old and he reviews plays. >> yeah, he reviews musicals and plays. i didn't know this about him until i started working with him. i mean guys, come on. >> pretty talented young man. look at him. >> look at. look at this. look at this beautiful young man. >> seth: and like, this is no joke. here he is interviewing lin-manuel. >> yeah. so, we're filming a scene. and we're filming in this prius, and i'm driving, and all of a sudden, they say "cut" and he starts rapping in the back. i'm i was like, what are you -- you're 7. what are you rapping? because it wasn't any hip-hop song i knew. and he was like, oh, it's from "hamilton." and i was like, what's "hamilton"? and he's like, you don't know what "hamilton" is? and i was like no, i don't know. and he literally sang the entire

album. he knew every single word, was on pitch. it was amazing. >> seth: i've seen him do some of it. i was watching something today and again, i was blown away. he does know all of "hamilton." >> he knows all of "hamilton." >> seth: yeah. i can't believe -- i kind of want to tip my cap to the fact that you did not know anything about "hamilton." [ light laughter ] >> yeah, i didn't. >> seth: but then you know, because my next question i think is actually a decent segue, because you have spent a lot of the past year protesting the dakota access pipeline. >> yes. >> seth: which, congratulations. [ applause ] "hamilton" buzz hasn't reached -- where maybe "hamilton," the >> well, they kind of are synonymous. >> they are synonymous. hamilton is about revolution, this is sort of i mean -- i wouldn't say that the protest is about revolution, it's more about protecting humanity. >> seth: probably so like we're 200 years away from a musical called "pipeline." [ light laughter ] >> hopefully not that long! >> seth: hopefully not that long. >> need to educate more about it. >> seth: but so, you spent a lot of this time there, you were arrested, and but you sort of

continued this fight. you did a protest at sundance, the film festival. talk about that, like, what made you think it was important to do it there? >> the sundance for a long time has been a supporter of native american sovereignty, and arts amongst native american communities, and they've been really wonderful. and so, this year they decided to do an event for standing rock to bring more awareness. and some of the water protectors from north dakota came, and they, although we're all very grateful that sundance had this event. chase bank is one of sundance's greatest sponsors, and chase bank is also one of the biggest investors in the pipeline. so, i think right now when we talk about all of these issues and protests popping up around the country for very important reasons, it's easy to sort of forget to think outside of the box. easy to show up to an airport to protest the ban, the muslim ban, or it's easy to go to north dakota and protest the pipeline. but then you're spending your money at certain places or you have your money in banks that

are still funding these causes that you're protesting. so, that was sort of the awareness that we wanted to bring to sundance. you know, why don't we continue the support that you have for native american rights but also think a little bit bigger and how we can expand our consciousness surrounding this fight. >> seth: that's a very helpful message. and i know -- [ applause ] i heard, is this true that malia obama was also at the protest? >> malia obama was there. one of my best friends' name is malia and i was there with some friends and they were like, oh, shae, malia's over there, you should go hi. and i was like, oh, yeah i know, i'll talk to her in a minute. and they're like, no like, you should probably go say hi. and i was like, no, i'll talk to her later. and they're like, it's malia obama! and i was like, malia obama is not here, and she was. she was there. she was at sundance to hear what the chairman from standing rock had to say and some of the water protectors had to say, and i thought that was moving and inspiring, that despite who you are, who your family is, where you come from, it was neat to see her be invested personally

and separately from her family in these causes. >> seth: well, thank you so much for all you continue to do. it's great that you're out there sort of giving these messages that i think a lot of people aren't hearing and wouldn't hear if it wasn't someone like you. so, thanks for doing that and congrats on the show. [ applause ] >> thank you. trying to help out! >> seth: shailene woodley, everybody! "big little lies" premieres on hbo february 19th! we'll be right back with annaleigh ashford. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ lease a 2017 lincoln mkx for $369 a month.

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♪ >> seth: welcome back, everybody. our next guest is tony award-winning actress who is

currently in previews opposite jake gyllenhaal in the broadway revival of "sunday in the park with george." the show opens on february 23rd and runs through april 23rd at the hudson theater. please welcome to the show annaleigh ashford, everyone. ♪ >> seth: welcome! >> thank you. >> seth: i am so happy you're here. i'm such a fan of your work. >> oh, that's so sweet. >> seth: and this show is so exciting because this was supposed to be a one-off, one night only with you and jake. and then they sold so many tickets, it became four nights. and now it's actually having a run on broadway. >> yeah, we're doing like, a lot of nights. >> seth: yeah. >> like, probably more than 70? i'm not quite sure. we're doing ten weeks, which is kind of crazy. >> seth: and the crazy thing is, obviously, because you were not planning on this when you first started it, but you ended up having to start doing the show like six weeks after you had a baby. >> well, i have never had a

baby, and when they called to see if i wanted to do the concert, i was like, yeah! that's amazing! that's a total dream come true. and they're like, you'll have a 6-week-old child. i was like, whatever, he's just going to like sleep a lot, like a lot. [ light laughter ] >> seth: yeah. >> they sleep so much, and all they do is eat. and he didn't sleep at all, and he just ate the whole time. >> seth: yeah. so, you had to be sort of a working mom throughout this whole process. and did you manage? did it work out all right? >> there was milk everywhere. [ light laughter ] >> seth: okay, gotcha. >> i was -- we, like, started the process and i was doing okay. and then we got to the day of the show, y'all. that's a reference from "waiting for guffman". we got to the day of the show, y'all, and i woke up and my breasts -- first of all, i have lived a life with no breasts, and now i have breasts! >> seth: exciting. >> they're not very big, as you

can tell, but they're bigger than they were. anyway, so, they were really big. [ light laughter ] they were really big that morning and i got an infection called mastitis. >> seth: i'm familiar with mastitis, yes. >> yes. so i had some clogged ducts, so i was running off stage. literally, this is a real thing. i ran off stage and we would put my breasts on pumps in between songs and i would just stand there until i had to run back on. >> seth: oh, my goodness! >> yeah, that happened. [ light laughter ] >> seth: i feel like you could have had an equal amount of seats backstage and you would have sold that out, too. >> absolutely! >> seth: maybe to like some real weirdos, but you still would have sold the tickets. >> whatever. >> seth: tickets are tickets. >> right? you obviously have a musical theater part of your background your whole life. i heard that you sang -- you used your singing, your musical theater background during labor. >> i did. at first i didn't think that would be the case. i forgot to take lamaze. we just, like, forgot that part. and i was listening -- i don't often listen to musical theater, but i felt like "dreamgirls" was the choice. >> seth:yeah.

while i was in labor, so i was bouncing on a ball going -- ♪ i mean i was going for it. the nurses were frightened. my nurse, nancy, was really confused and frightened. anyways, and then when i was actually in labor, i didn't know what to do, so i just was going, um, mum, mum, mum, mum, um, mum, mum. and the doctor was very confused, and i was just like doing some vocal checks. it was great, though. it got me through it. >> seth: yeah, the baby got out, so it worked. >> barely, but he got out, yeah. >> seth: jake gyllenhaal, your co-star. people don't know this, an excellent singer. >> it's the best-kept secret in show business. >> seth: yeah. >> but he is a really, really good singer. he likes to remind me often that he was in a competitive show choir in high school. >> seth: wow. to want to remind people of that really tells you where your passions lie. >> right. we have become extremely close in the last three weeks. we also, we have dressing rooms

right next to each other. >> seth: well, that's interesting, because people might not know what the dressing room situation is in a broadway theater, because it's glorious on the outside, but tiny backstage, right? >> tiny and dirty. >> seth: yeah. >> we have dust that's probably been accumulating for, like, the last six years, that nobody's cleaned and we just leave it. >> seth: so, you guys are right next to each other, basically. >> right next to each other and we share a bathroom. >> seth: oh wow! that's really exciting to share a bathroom with jake gyllenhaal! >> you're telling me. it's great. [ light laughter ] he bought me some new breast pumps, a little funnel. and i bought him some matches. [ light laughter ] >> seth: that's so great! like the gift of the magi. so, you played annie. how old were you when you played annie? >> i was like 11, going on 12. >> seth: and this, people might not appreciate exactly how challenging a role that is for someone who's 11 or 12 years old. >> yeah, you, like, don't leave the stage.

and when i was doing it in northland, colorado, on a really fancy stage -- wasn't. i got sick while we were doing it and i kept running offstage and like chugging water. and i got to the end of the show, and at the end of the show, you can't, like, leave the stage. >> seth: right. >> you just don't get any time. it's called "annie." >> seth: yeah, right. >> and i sat down on a suitcase and i went -- ♪ maybe far away and you know when you have to pee really bad and you finally do, you have that like shiver. >> seth: yeah. like that weird little like -- well, that happened. [ laughter ] and i peed through the suitcase. there was a huge puddle, and it was a really bad production, so the dog, sandy, was like somebody's golden retriever -- >> seth: right >> that was not -- at all. >> seth: not a stage dog. so, he ran on and splashed in it. [ laughter ] and you know, i've peed on stage since, but that was probably -- >> seth: really? that was the most. >> yeah. >> seth: because i guess if you survive through that, you're like, well, it's not a career-ender. [ light laughter ]

>> right. now it's just a nice surprise. >> seth: yeah! [ light laughter ] you're going to do 70 shows, you might as well pee once or twice. >> i think i might try tonight. [ light laughter ] >> seth: i saw you in your tony-winning turn in a fantastic production of "can't take it with you." you were absolutely fantastic in that. and -- but i heard you created a character called puppet judy. explain to us who puppet judy is. >> puppet judy is -- it's a puppet, if judy garland came back from the dead as a puppet and you could put a quarter in her and ask her any questions, that's puppet judy. >> seth: okay, got you? >> okay, you ready? >> seth: yeah, so i have to put a quarter in and ask you a question. >> i can't believe i'm doing this. >> seth: i'm very excited about this. it really came about because i do a really bad impression of judy garland. she sounds like a dead puppet. >> seth: okay. oh, so your impression, someone said you can't do judy garland, but you can do her as a dead puppet? >> so, now she's puppet judy. are you ready? >> seth: alright, so a quarter in. >> hello! how can i help you? [ light laughter ] >> seth: hey, puppet judy, how is the hudson theater treating you? >> darling, the hudson theater is fabulous! i haven't been there since 1962

when i said vincent, get in here, get on my dressing table, we're going to do some cocaine right now! >> seth: puppet judy, everybody! [ applause ] that was fantastic! thank you so much for being here. >> aw, thank you. >> seth: i can't wait to see the show. annaleigh ashford, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] "sunday in the park with george" opens february 23 at the hudson theater. we'll be right back with evan mcmullin. ♪ why are you deleting these photos?

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♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: our next guest is a former cia officer who ran for president in 2016 as an independent conservative. he is also the co-founder of the new non-profit "stand up republic." please welcome to the show evan mcmullin. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪

>> seth: welcome! thank you so much for making the time! >> great to be here, seth. >> seth: so we mentioned your biography a little bit, cia, congressional staffer. then you decide to run for president as an independent conservative because you saw donald trump as a unique threat. we're 24 days in. are you thinking now that you were right or you're thinking, oh, i overreacted, this is going great? [ light laughter ] >> i'm thinking i was kind of right, but to be honest, in those past few weeks, i've seen things i didn't expect to see. >> seth: gotcha. on the worst side of the ledger as opposed to the better. >> mostly, yes, absolutely. >> seth: yeah. >> and it's hard to believe that we are only three weeks into this. >> seth: and you obviously, so you have a background in security. >> yes. >> seth: is this a scary part of it? are you as scared by this sort of russian influence and how we sort of keep, sort of -- without real evidence, but we keep hearing it pop up. is this -- what do you think -- what steps should be taken? >> well look, what i'm concerned with is that we have a president who doesn't understand or want to understand our constitution, doesn't respect our system of

government. in our government, we divide power between different branches, and between the states and the federal government, to ensure the power isn't abused. what authoritarians do, and what i saw authoritarians do overseas and what i see donald trump doing, is attacking the other branches of government and other sources of power that are outside the government, whether they be the press or otherwise. that is dangerous because we need power to be divided, so that it's checked so that our basic rights are protected, and that's why we should all be concerned. >> seth: now, you mentioned him attacking the other branches of government. you were also -- you were attacked by donald trump during the campaign. >> a few times. >> seth: he came up with a nickname for you, which was evan mcmuffin. >> that's egg mcmuffin. >> seth: egg mcmuffin. not even -- >> let's get -- let's do the whole thing. >> seth: yeah, exactly. you took advantage of that, though because -- >> i loved it, yeah. >> seth: there was also -- there was an article in "vanity fair" that trump grill could be the worst restaurant in america and you wrote to him that, here we go. so i hear egg mcmuffins taste a lot better than the steaks at the trump grill, true story.

>> i think -- i think it's true. >> seth: it's probably true, yeah. one of the things -- it doesn't seem like republicans in office right now seem as concerned as maybe you or i are. jason chaffetz from your home state of utah, he runs this house oversight committee, this sort of arm that would investigate these sort of things. do you feel like he is doing enough right now? is he concerned enough? are you satisfied with the steps he's taking? >> not exactly. i've been concerned with his tone. his tone is one that suggests that he isn't going to be taking a very proactive approach to oversight, to making sure the president behaves legally, and ethically. so, we do have reason for concern. look, it's early. i've been advocating for him to do more. i think there needs to be an investigation into donald trump's ties to moscow in addition to russia's efforts to undermine and influence our elections. i mean, it's unimaginable. today we learned, or late last night, we learned of general flynn's resignation. that's the third team -- the

third member of trump's team to resign over russia-related issues. this is the same country that is actively attacking our democracy. so, there -- there needs to be an investigation. representative chaffetz can be a part of that. i actually think there needs to be a special committee, a special select committee in congress to do it, but congress has a responsibility of oversight, of conducting the oversight of the executive branch, and it's just got to happen. [ applause ] >> seth: now, you -- you're obviously from utah. people from utah -- utahans, is that? am i say that right? >> utahans, yep, you got it. >> seth: have a reputation of being a very polite people, a very civilized group of people. and yet, jason chaffetz went home for a town hall, and this is not what i had heard about you fellows. take a quick look at some of the town hall stuff. >> the president, under the law is exempt from the conflicts of interest law. [ crowd chants ]

>> now given the choice that was before us, by far donald trump was the better choice. [ crowd yells ] what do you all think of this devos? do you like devos? [ crowd yells ] >> seth: the moment -- i like that he thinks i know how i'll win back the crowd. betsy devos! >> yeah. [ light laughter ] >> seth: is that -- were you surprised to see that, that sort of -- this sort of what seems to be now happening in a lot of places, but to see in utah this sort of grassroots resistance to what we're seeing in the early days of this administration? >> well i think in utah, and i can't speak for all utahans, but his negative ratings even heading into election day were sky high. many people there i think held their nose and voted for donald trump even though they didn't like him. so, there's still, you know, there's still opposition there to donald trump, to what they see coming from the administration, but i think most importantly, people again, i'll say it, just expect congress to do its job and hold the

executive branch accountable, whether you're a republican or a democrat. this is -- this is an american thing. this is a critical part of our system, and we expect better of our leaders. >> seth: you have been one of the few voices, conservative voices -- don't get me wrong, a lot of conservative press has spoken out against donald trump. i don't want to say that you're a lone voice. >> feels like it sometimes. >> seth: yeah, senators mccain and graham have obviously been critical of the russian ties. are -- do you think we are going to see the republican party sort of -- is there a line that donald trump might cross where they'll say, "hey, enough's enough," or do you think, like you mentioned earlier, they're holding their noses, they're getting enough policy things pushed through that are on the republican agenda that they're going to just put up with this and look the other way? >> well, therein lies the challenge. so, donald trump will deliver some policy wins for conservatives, for republicans. and that's the temptation if you're a republican is to then overlook any threat that he may pose to our system of government, to our basic rights, and that's something i saw as a cia operative overseas. that authoritarians, they'll

dole out benefits and gifts to certain groups of people to keep them satisfied. meanwhile, usurping a lot of their basic rights, basic rights of the whole country. so, we have to be very careful as conservatives to still hold him accountable for respecting our democracy, even though he may be delivering some conservative policy wins. that's -- no conservative policy win can be a replacement for respecting our basic rights, our democratic ideals, the truth that all men and women are created equal and that we're born with an inalienable right to liberty. none of that is negotiable and we cannot lose sight of that with this administration. >> seth: and is that what your new non-profit is aiming to do? [ applause ] >> right. so, we founded -- mindy finn, my running mate during the campaign and i, founded an organization called, "stand up republic." it's meant to help americans stand up for our, for their democracy.

so, that's what we're doing. we're organizing people to stand up for these basic fundamental, timeless american ideals, and for the health of our democratic system. >> seth: well, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> seth: and you should run for office again. you don't have to start at president. there's other things you can do. >> right, indeed. >> seth: i really appreciate it and please come back again soon. >> thank you. >> seth: evan mcmullin, everybody, for more information about "stand up republic," visit standuprepublic.com. we'll be right back. [ cheers and applause ] ♪

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[ cheers and applause ] >> seth: my thanks to shailene woodley, annaleigh ashford and evan mcmullin, everybody! brann dailor, 8g band. [ cheers and applause ] "carson daly," stay tuned for it. i'll see you tomorrow. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪ >> carson: good evening and welcome to tonight's "last call" with me, carson daly. good to have you here. we got a good one tonight. we're coming to you, by the way, at the skylark in new york. for our spotlight tonight, we're