A History of Pop Stars on Broadway
Pop music stars have had a long history on Broadway, from David Bowie to Megan Thee Stallion.
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Much has been written about the proliferation of pop singer-songwriters writing new musicals for Broadway and off-Broadway. Less covered is the trend of pop singers performing on Broadway, which has made for a number of memorable appearances in current and recent seasons.
Singers of popular music have been most likely to be hired for musical revivals, jukebox musicals, and musicals written by pop writers. Currently, King Princess is co-starring in the stage musical adaptation of Girl Interrupted, making its world premiere at The Public Theater. The musical dramatizing the experience of young women at a psychiatric facility in the 1960s is based on the 1993 memoir by Susanne Kaysen which was transformed into a major motion picture starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. In the Public’s Martinson Hall, singer-songwriter-musician King Princess is playing the role of Lisa, a rebellious leader in the hospital who becomes close with protagonist Susanna, played by Juliana Canfield. The music for Girl Interrupted’s stage adaptation is by Aimee Mann and book is by Martyna Majok. King Princess’s debut single was “1950”, involving queer love in the mid-20th century, just as the stories of Girl Interrupted do. Girl Interrupted marks King Princess’s stage debut.
There are many pop stars who started out as home grown theatre actors—and some wind up returning to the theatre after achieving fame. A prominent example is mega-star Ariana Grande who is going to make her West End debut in 2027 co-starring in Sunday in the Park with George with Jonathan Bailey, her Wicked film co-star. Grande made her Broadway debut at the age of 15 in the musical 13 (2008), written by Jason Robert Brown. Sunday marks her return to the stage in a musical. Pop star Sabrina Carpenter made her Broadway debut just before the pandemic lockdown began in 2020, eking out two days starring in Mean Girls (2018) before the shutdown. While her recording career started long before that, she has catapulted to pop stardom in the years since. Whether the “Espresso” singer will return to a stage musical someday is in the air. Carpenter shared the stage with Renee Rapp, who originated the role of Regina George in the show and has also since risen on the pop artist charts.
Off-Broadway, this summer will mark Jennifer Nettles’ stage debut. The lead vocalist of Sugarland wrote a new musical called Giulia that will premiere at PAC NYC. Nettles is also starring as the title character, an unconventional serial killer. She’s part of a long legacy of pop singer-songwriters who have also performed in their own new musicals, from Sara Bareilles in Waitress (2016) to Sting in The Last Ship (2014). Both were replacements during their shows’ runs. Bareilles went on to also star in the 2022 revival of Into the Woods and Sting returns to leading The Last Ship this summer in a new staging at the Metropolitan Opera. Sting had previously appeared on Broadway in 3 Penny Opera in 1989.
Sara Bareilles and Sting are two of the most recent prominent examples of this trend, but hardly the first. Did you know that in 1975, John Philips of the Mamas & the Papas fame wrote book, music, and lyrics for a Broadway musical—and starred in it? Man on the Moon starred Philips during previews, before he chose to replace himself with another actor—Dennis Doherty, also a founder of the Mamas & the Papas. The fascinating short-lived show about space was produced by Andy Warhol and closed after only five performances. Faring a bit better was 1985’s Leader of the Pack, the first jukebox musical of its kind. The nominee for Best Musical told the story of pop singer-songwriter Ellie Greenwich through her own songs, and Greenwich herself played the lead role during the second part of the show; younger Greenwich was played by Dinah Manoff.
The 1980s saw pop singers making Broadway bows in increasing numbers—but previous decades still boasted their share of pop stars on Broadway. The legendary multi-hyphenate Sammy Davis Jr. had a major Broadway career, starring in musicals like Mr. Wonderful (1956) and Golden Boy (1965). Pop duo Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence achieved a pop duo Broadway moment in a book musical in 1968 with Golden Rainbow.
In the 1980s, a number of popular music celebrities chose to take a Broadway turn in challenging plays rather than in musicals. David Bowie made a splash in 1980, replacing in the lead role of The Elephant Man (1979), the acclaimed play based on a true story about a deformed man in Victorian England. Cher’s only Broadway performance to date was in the play Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), which lasted only 52 performances. The production was directed by Robert Altman in his only Broadway venture; he turned the production into a major film starring much of the same cast, including Cher, later that same year. The decade also marked the sole Broadway performance of Madonna, in David Mamet’s three-hander Speed-The-Plow (1988). The “Like a Virgin” singer on her way to mega-stardom originated the role of Karen in Mamet’s rapid-fire take on Hollywood.
Of course, the 1980s also had their share of pop singers starring in musicals. The Public Theater’s hit revival of Pirates of Penzance (1981) with a modern and vital energy gave performance opportunities to Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith. Smith became a Broadway stalwart, going on to appear in The Human Comedy, Grand Hotel, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. (He appeared in Grease (1972) in 1979, just before Pirates.) Faring less well in his Broadway bow was Donny Osmond, who played the title role in a doomed 1982 revival of George M. Cohan’s Little Johnny Jones which shuttered on opening night. This didn’t deter Osmond from returning to Broadway; he played two stints as Gaston in the long-runner Beauty and the Beast (1994) in 2006 and 2007. Also in the 1980s, the aforementioned Leader of the Pack provided a unique instance of a pop singer performing in a book musical—where they regaled audiences with a song they wrestled actually famous for. Darlene Love, whose beloved 1963 cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector actually sang that number in Leader of the Pack, where she played herself. Love retuned to Broadway in Carrie, Grease, and Hairspray.
The long-running 1994 revival of Grease granted opportunities for many pop singers to make Broadway bows. The starry list of those who appeared in Grease on Broadway in the 1990s includes Micky Dolenz, Debby Boone, Chubby Checker, Sheena Easton, Debbie Gibson, Al Jarreau, and Jon Secada. The production, produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, set a precedent for the kind of casting strategy the pair later employed on their long-running Chicago revival (1996). Boone had previously appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982) and Easton in Man of La Mancha (1992). Dolenz returned to Broadway in 2004 in Aida (2000) and Secada in 2003 in Cabaret (1998). Gibson has had a long career on Broadway including in Les Misérables (1987), Beauty and the Beast, and Cabaret.
In the 1990s, long-runners Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, and Rent (1996) all featured pop singers throughout their runs. Toni Braxton popped into Beauty and the Beast in 1998 and followed this up with lead performances in 2003 in Aida and 2014 in After Midnight (2013). Chicago’s pop star lineup over the years has included Kevin Richardson (2003), Huey Lewis (2005, 2006), Usher (2006), Mya (2008), Michelle Williams (2010), and Brandy (2015, 2017). Mel B made her Broadway debut in 2004 as Mimi in Rent (1996) before later stepping into Chicago in 2016. Joey Fatone debuted in 2002 as Mark in Rent before later appearing in 2004 in Little Shop of Horrors (2003) and in 2025 in & Juliet (2022). Michelle Williams preceded Chicago with Aida and has followed it up with Once on this Island (2017) and most recently, originating the role of Viola Van Horn in Death Becomes Her (2024).
The 1993 Broadway bow of London mega-hit Blood Brothers featured a revolving door of beloved pop artists in the central role of Mrs. Johnstone. Petula Clark was the first replacement in the role, followed by Carole King and then Helen Reddy. None of the three appeared in any other Broadway show. The pop-infused score of Blood Brothers proved a perfect showcase for their talents.
The 2000s found pop singers gracing billboards as replacements, from Reba McEntire in 2001 in Annie Get Your Gun (1999) to Fantasia in 2007 in The Color Purple (2005) to Clay Aiken in 2008 in Spamalot (2005). The advent of American Idol provided a number of singers who later attained pop music success and then crossed over to Broadway, including Fantasia (who returned to Broadway again in After Midnight) and Aiken. Meanwhile, the decade also featured Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs following in the footsteps of those 1980s stars in choosing to lead a serious play: in this case, a 2004 revival of A Raisin in the Sun.
Sara Bareilles wasn’t the only pop artist who starred in her long-runner Waitress in the 2010s. The show adapted from the major motion picture also starred Katharine McPhee, Joey McIntyre, and Jordin Sparks at various times. McIntyre also did a stint in 2004 as Fiyero in Wicked (2003) and Sparks spent time In The Heights (2008) in 2010. Todrick Hall, another pop artist home-grown on Broadway spent time in Waitress as well as in The Color Purple, Memphis, Kinky Boots, and Chicago.
2016’s Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 starred Josh Groban in his Broadway debut in the central role. Groban followed this up by playing the title role in a 2023 Sweeney Todd revival. Great Comet also featured the Broadway debut of Ingrid Michaelson, a replacement Sonya. Other pop star replacements in this decade on Broadway were Carly Rae Jepsen in 2014 in Cinderella (2013) and Nick Jonas, who came up on Broadway as a child actor in shows like Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and Annie Get Your Gun, returning post-pop stardom to lead How To Succeed (2011) in 2012. He would also return for The Last Five Years (2025).
The current decade has seen several pop stars step into Moulin Rouge! (2019) including, most recently, Megan Thee Stallion who played Zidler for a little over a month. Joanna “Jojo” Levesque did turns as leading lady Satine in 2023 and 2024 and was supposed to head into Chess later this year, before an early closing changed that plan. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls fame became a Tony Award winner for Best Actress last year when her performance in Sunset Boulevard became the talk of Broadway.
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