In honor of Women's History Month, and thanks to Playbill’s all-new Playbill Partner Hotels Booking Engine, Playbill is showcasing musicals about women and celebrate the leading ladies who bring these productions to life eight times a week.
Below, a number of Broadway's current leading ladies answer the following question: Can you share what makes your work on Broadway, and specifically in your current show, uniquely special to you? How does it empower you as a woman, both personally and professionally? Read their inspiring answers below.
Jennifer Simard (Death Becomes Her)
Death Becomes Her is both hilarious and visually stunning, but its true power lies in its ability to generate dialogue. By satirizing societal pressures around aging and exploring the nuances of female relationships, it provides a unique lens for discussing women's experiences at every age. Jennifer Simard, who leads the show as Helen Sharp, says: “I started my career in New York in shows where I was charged with playing multiple characters. What is uniquely special about Helen Sharp to me, is that each color the character goes through in her arc is like a separate character in and of themselves. So it feels like a retrospective of my entire career. It is an honor and a challenge as an actress to try and blend those various aspects of Helen's personality into one cohesive whole. I would add that Helen endures quite a bit of pain in the show, as have I in my personal life. It is empowering to work through that pain onstage each night resulting in the greatest elixir: making the audience laugh.”
To learn more about tickets to Death Becomes Her, including dates and times, click here.
Jordan Tyson (Gypsy)
During Women's History Month, Gypsy resonates deeply, tackling themes of female ambition, sacrifice, and the fight for agency—while telling the story of real-life women. The musical powerfully explores women navigating the cruelties of show business, and the complex relationship between mothers and daughters. Three women star at the center of the show: Audra McDonald, Joy Woods, and Jordan Tyson. “Learning from and playing alongside the brilliant women in my company empowers me," said Tyson. "These are women at the top of their game, top of their crafts— they are WORLD renowned creators! And inhabiting June in GYPSY has pushed my boundaries— I am doing things I didn’t even think I was capable of before… I’m braver because of that expansion. I approach newness now with the mentality of “I’m not sure if I can do that, but I’ll try!"
To learn more about tickets to Gypsy, including dates and times, click here.
NaTasha Yvette Williams and Jenna Bainbridge (Wicked)
Wicked is a fantastic show to attend for Women's History Month, as it centers on the complex and powerful journeys of two women defying societal expectations and forging their own paths. The musical explores themes of female friendship, ambition, and the struggle against prejudice, thereby challenging the notional convention of “good vs. bad." After starring in Suffs, Jenna Bainbridge is currently making history as the first wheelchair-using actor to play the role of Nessarose: “As a proud disabled woman, I am so honored to be a visible representation of a historically underrepresented community on stage," she said. "It is a thrill to be telling disabled stories and tackling a very complex and often overlooked disabled character in a show with so many incredible, strong women eight times a week at the Gershwin. It's rare to be in a show with so many female leads, and to get to do two back-to-back on Broadway is an honor I never would have imagined possible.”
Meanwhile, NaTasha Yvette Williams followed up her Tony-nominated turn in Some Like It Hot by playing Madame Morrible: "In the spirit of Women's History Month, I naturally am reminded of my mother. One of the greatest gifts she gave to me was the belief that I can achieve and deserve anything I can conceive. She taught me that no dream or idea was too big or profound. So, dream cause everything is attainable! Women across the world in various disciplines are proving this every day. I see this same impactful determination on Broadway stages weekly. I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved in a discipline that is as impactful as making art. Art shapes the world. It educates, inspires, and enlightens. What a magnificent opportunity to be a Broadway actress. My current show, Wicked, focuses on several ideas, but legacy and certainly sisterhood are found at its core. This show is particularly special to me. Every night I get to hear Lencia Kebede and Allie Trimm sing 'For Good.' The first time I heard that song was in 2009. I was in a production of Crowns at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Working with extraordinary women, one of which was the late Marva Hicks. We had to sing 'For Good' for an Arena Stage benefit. Backstage at Wicked each night the words of that song penetrate my heart as I reflect on Marva and other women who have impacted my life. That’s the power of art…art that defies gravity!!!"
To learn more about tickets to Wicked, including dates and times, click here.
Zoë Roberts (Operation Mincemeat)
The Olivier-winning Operation Mincemeat is now on Broadway with its original West End cast. Though the show mainly follows the efforts of men to try to trick Nazis during World War II, it employs female actors to play some of those roles—expanding the roles that women can play and showing how gender is a construct. Said Zoë Roberts, who helped create the show and is starring in it: "What's brilliant about my roles in Operation Mincemeat (and there are roughly 25 of them) is I get to be a dominant authority figure, and at the other end of the spectrum, a complete and utter clown. Both are equally empowering, for very different reasons, and pretty rare for female characters on stage. I just hope the show inspires other makers to create parts for women, especially women over a certain age or who don't fit the industry's idea of what a female performer should look like, that broaden the scope of what women get to bring to audiences."
To learn more about tickets to Operation Mincemeat, including dates and times, click here.
Faith Prince (BOOP! The Musical)
BOOP! The Musical features the iconic female cartoon Betty Boop, while celebrating female independence and empowerment. The musical leads audiences on an extraordinary adventure of color, music, and love in New York City—a place that reminds Betty and the women she meets, “You are capable of amazing things." It's a particularly powerful sentiment for Women's History Month. Says Faith Prince, who plays Valentina, in the new musical: “Looking back on all of my past Broadway shows, as well as the current one Boop! I’m in at the present, the roles all have a common theme: to stand boldly in your womanly power no matter the challenges with resilience and undeniable fortitude! Whether dealing affairs of the heart or passionate desires for teaching in a foreign land, or being an Astro Physicist! Having had the privilege of spreading the message for positive female empowerment, I have always been a women’s woman! The chance to live it, portray it while interacting with other strong women and men and a desire to encourage that strength and power in others!”
To learn more about tickets to Boop!, including dates and times, click here.
Speaking of powerful women, Playbill is proud to spotlight one of our Restaurant Partners, Utsav, and its leader, Nandita Khanna. Celebrating 25 years, this woman-owned and run restaurant serves Indian, Indo-Chinese, and Bengali cuisine, providing its visitors with an exceptional experience. If you are in the Theatre District, we highly recommend a stop at Utsav!
There are many more shows and places we recommend, hotels to stay at, and incredible attractions to take your loved ones (or yourselves) to! Keep checking back as we continue sharing things to do in NYC and (London)!
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