Bringing Broadway Back… Better
The industry is reopening. The lights are back on.
Have you seen a Broadway show lately? If so, you might recognize these faces. More than 35 actors from the JWS community are appearing in the Broadway Reopening. Here are some of their stories.
ERIN ELIZABETH CLEMONS
Hamilton on Broadway
I hope that the commercial theatre industry can find a way to be more truly inclusive and accepting. I think there are people who really want that change but it’s going to be a long road. I really want to see new stories written by and directed by new voices. I want to see all of humanity represented onstage and off.
The last 18 months allowed me time to rest which led me to a deeper exploration into why I want to be an artist and it allowed me the space to be creative for myself again. I realized that I enjoy the process of creating and rehearsing theatre more than I enjoy the day after day of the same thing which led me to want to explore directing and other ways I can use my creative ability.
In this moment I am just happy to be alive and able to work again. Truly. The connection that happens inside a theatre is like no other workplace. Theatre people are like no one else in the world.
SHEREEN AHMED
My Fair Lady on tour
I took 18 months to reflect and be still, and now I know myself better than I ever have before. I have a deep sense of confidence in what I bring to the table, I trust my craft and artistry, and I stand by my values and prioritize them above all.
I hope we can all recognize how much we need each other if we want to accomplish anything in this industry. Let’s smash the hierarchy and create real change by having transparent conversations with each other: producers with actors, crew with directors, etc. The more we can see each other and understand the needs of one another, the closer we can get to creating the industry we wish to be a part of.
I’m proud to re-open with the company of ‘My Fair Lady.’ During the shutdown, we had numerous Zoom meetings to discuss how we can return to a reimagined workplace that is more inclusive and equitable. I’m proud to travel the country with this group of leaders and continue that work in the cities we visit as well. We all realized we have an opportunity at our fingertips and we’re taking full advantage of that.
AFRA HINES
Hadestown on Broadway
What excites me most about getting back on a stage is connecting with the audience again. In Hadestown we have this moment right at the top of the show where we literally look at the audience and ask them if they are ready to go on this journey together. That moment has always been powerful but now after being apart for so long, having gone through the many traumas of 2019/2020, it feels sacred. That we made the sacrifice to be here together and we made it.
MARIAND TORRES
Hadestown on Broadway
The past 18 months have changed me as an artist. I am more aware now than I have ever been: more aware of what I value, of what I need, of how much I don't know… and also of what I have to offer.
Being forced to take a break from this business I've been in pursuit of for 16 years, having to sit with myself and detach my identity from this profession, actually made me realize how much I have to offer as a human being. That eased my need to constantly have to prove myself as an artist, which has been very freeing.
More importantly, I've become more deeply aware of other humans and other people's needs.
It is so important that everyone feels safe and valued and respected as an artist and for what they have to contribute in our industry.
Awareness and empathy make for better art.
KYLE CARTER
The Lion King on tour
For every beautiful story told in the history of musical theatre, there is also a story of systemic oppression, suppression, bullying, assault, and manipulation (Disney is especially no exception). As storytellers, we are a mirror of our experience, and thusly we have been a mirror of America.
In 2020, a year of protest and collective breath, we confronted our reflection. In our 2021 return, we must relentlessly demand that a different kind of face re-emerge in the mirror. A reflection of brown people as prominent property owners and investors in the story, not just storytellers inside the walls. A reflection that isn’t an outlier when a show has an all-female leadership team. One where people of diverse abilities, sexualities, genders, cultures, etc. have ACCESS to share in a show's investment.
So be extremely deliberate with who and what theatres/companies you invest time in. Have NO FEAR raising your voice. Have NO FEAR being vocal that you will not work for someone. We have the power to create a more dynamic story than before. We are artists, we spark creation, and we will no longer tolerate homogenous investment in the activities of our industry.
Amandla! Ngawethu!
(Power! It is ours!)
BELÉN MOYANO
Hadestown on tour
Thanks to conversation within the JWS community during the long live theatre hiatus, I developed a personal vision of what an equitable theatre industry could look like. Coming back into auditions, rehearsal rooms, and theaters, I’ve been able to set clear boundaries for myself and my work. I can ask for what I need and stand by my values. Within JWS, we talked about developing ‘scripts’—pieces of conversations and ready responses to draw from when hard conversations inevitably arise. As clumsy as my first attempts at the conversations have been, I’ve made progress toward that personal vision and helped others find and communicate their needs and goals.
Now working on the Hadestown tour, I’m benefiting directly from the way our producers have taken these industry-wide conversations to heart, with therapy and external DEI resources provided in addition to the many considerations AEA has fought for in regard to pay, safety, scheduling, and health care. This is still just the beginning of the work in joining performers, producers, creative teams, unions, and audiences in efforts toward diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and mental health. I hope that together we will weave those efforts into the fabric of every theatre organization.
CHRISTOPHER RICE-THOMSON
Hamilton on tour
The last 18 months reminded me the most amazing part of my life is my amazing husband. Shows come and go, but having someone you love by your side through it all is what means the most to me.
The time away from the industry made me question why we have continued to do things for decades that do not serve the artists or the audiences in the best way possible. The usual excuse is “it’s always been done this way” and now that excuse is not acceptable to me.
Personally, I am extremely proud to be working for Hamilton. They are working to make sure the backstage crew and those in the audience are as diverse as those seen on stage every night. It’s easy to just say oh that’s too hard to do and keep moving forward as we’ve always done. Our company has gone above and beyond to implement these changes and as crew members do not return or they come back and wrap up their contracts, our producers and General Managers are doing their best to find replacements who are BIPOC individuals. I am proud to be a part of a company that is leading by example.
GISELLE ALVAREZ
The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
The past 18 months has given me a renewed perspective on the theatre industry. Choosing everyday to do the difficult work of leading with empathy and curiosity instead of fear has given me immense clarity as to WHY I am an artist. It propels me to use the power and privilege I have to amplify the voices in our community that have been silenced for too long. I plan to make meaningful and lasting change that serves our community today but more importantly can adapt to serve our community in the future.
I am most excited for the rehearsal process of bringing PHANTOM back to Broadway. It will be the first time in over 30 years that the entire company will be in rehearsal AT THE SAME TIME! Instead of 4 days (my timeline when I made my debut), we will have 4 weeks to dive deep and make new and exciting discoveries that will elevate our collective storytelling. I’m equally excited to return to singing and dancing for a living, to making an audience laugh, and to play the cymbals in a monkey costume.
KHORI PETINAUD
Moulin Rouge on Broadway
I recently got the opportunity to work on something that has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I was so nervous to do it because I was about 5 months postpartum and still feeling like a foreigner in my body but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity!
It was the first time that I was going to be away from my baby and I wasn’t sure how it was going to feel. Every day I came home with a full heart, and then, after all that, to hold this child, the one I had dreamed about and wanted for so long in my arms, it was about enough to make my heart explode! I was happier than I could’ve ever imagined and I learned such an important lesson in that moment. If it doesn’t feel like that, exploding heart and all, I can’t do it. I can’t leave my son to do something that doesn’t set my heart on fire. I want him to know that if I’m not with him, it’s because I was doing something that I LOVED. I want to show him by example what it looks like to truly be lit up by what you do. The stakes feel so much higher for me as an artist because now I have this little one watching. He’s going to be looking to me to see how I walk in this world and will draw conclusions about life by how I live mine. I don’t take that responsibility lightly and I think my art will be better for it because it has a bigger purpose for me than it ever has before!
JACOB GUTIERREZ
Aladdin on Broadway
Getting back into our theatre has created a subdued sense of overwhelm. It sounds counterintuitive, but to be back in the same spaces, in the same costumes, with the same people… after 18 months where life has been profoundly different is a lot to take in. I keep taking quiet moments away to just reflect.
My greatest desire is that we don’t forget what occurred over the past 18 months, and subsequently, who we’ve become. I hope we continue to step through this industry and world as the changed human beings we are—with our collective strength, pain, hopes, curiosity, and desires at the forefront. But the key word here is ‘collective.’ There is no art form more collaborative and collective than the theatre.
Being back in the rehearsal room with my Aladdin family has been the most life-giving, nourishing soul food that I haven’t tasted in 18 months. It is not lost on me what a precious gift I have in my hands to be stepping back onto the stage this week for an audience. I hope the audience senses the gratitude and brings their own changed selves to their seats. It’s time.
J. CASEY BARRETT
The Book of Mormon on Broadway
I’m certain I’m not the first person to say this, but I feel that although we didn’t know it at the time, our industry needed this shutdown. Of course, it was an extremely difficult time for us particularly because we rely on an assembled mass in order to pay our bills and have health insurance. That part was and continues to be a challenge. But, I’m confident in saying that we collectively made a necessary sacrifice. We needed to turn the machine completely off. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that tragically coincided with the pandemic cultivated a new cultural operating system.
Our colleagues on the industry front lines are fighting like hell to ensure that the beautiful new operating system is installed properly so we can turn the machine back on. So far in my experience in the rehearsal room for the reopening of The Book of Mormon on Broadway, you can feel it! It is palpable. It feels so much more collaborative than it has ever felt. Most of our cast are Black actors and the conceit of the show has to deal with that directly, so we are talking out loud to each other about what that means and how we can best keep that message clear to our audiences.
It feels so special to be a part of the reopening of Broadway. Our industry is having its own renaissance and one day I get to tell my grandkids that I was an active part of it!
POLLY BAIRD
My Fair Lady on tour AND
The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
I am the most excited to hear overtures! LIVE MUSIC is honestly the reason why I love theatre. A form of expression that exists when the spoken word is simply not enough. When the National Tour of “My Fair Lady” reopened, I knew it would be magical to hear that incredible opening, and witness Shereen Ahmed’s initial “journey” into Covent Garden. It was, as I expected, spectacular. Now, I cannot imagine hearing Phantom’s organ overture for the first time. 29 musicians playing live. What could be better?
As an artist, the past 18 months have reminded me that, at the end of the day, kindness is one of the most powerful tools for connectivity and empathy that I can contribute to the artistic spaces I am a part of. I am very proud to be a part of the creative team of a Broadway company, as we remount a thirty year old show! As we reevaluate what might have worked in 1988, but no longer stands… as we approach the piece with new eyes and new hearts. It has been a challenge and a blessing. My hope for the future of theatre is that it can find creative solutions to reach new audiences.