Broadway Dresser Kimberly Mark Sues HAMILTON For Discrimination Following Cancer Treatment

A new lawsuit filed in New York County Supreme Court alleges that Hamilton Uptown LLC discriminated against longtime Broadway dresser Kimberly Mark following her return from cancer treatment.

The complaint, brings claims under the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law. The filing had not yet been reviewed by the County Clerk at the time of writing.

Mark, 53, has worked as a Broadway dresser for 28 years, including the last 10 years on Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in September 2022, took unpaid medical leave beginning in October 2022, and returned to work in August 2023 on a four-shows-per-week split-track schedule. The complaint states she continued in that schedule for nearly two years. 

According to the complaint, in June 2025 Mark was told in a meeting that “the job has become too physically demanding” and that her last day would be September 7, 2025. The filing alleges her continued employment was conditioned on performing all eight shows per week, which she says she could not do because of ongoing treatment side effects. 

Mark alleges that other backstage employees, including another dresser, were allowed to maintain reduced schedules for non-medical reasons. She also alleges that the decision coincided with a new actor joining the show whose contract required a dresser to work eight shows per week, and that reasonable alternatives were proposed but not adopted. 

The complaint pleads three causes of action: disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, and retaliation. It seeks reinstatement or compensation for future lost wages, back pay, benefits, damages for emotional distress, punitive damages under the NYCHRL, and attorneys’ fees.

Mark is demanding a jury trial. All claims described are allegations only and the case has not been tested in a court of law.

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