Broadway Stars Weigh In on the Importance of Voting and What's At Stake This Election

For the past few months, BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge has been asking his guests on Backstage Live about the importance of voting. He has asked each of his guests to say a few words about what's at stake in the election, and why every vote counts.

Below, we've rounded up some of the responses...

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LaChanze:

"It is the most important thing that you can do right now in our country. So many people lost their lives for the right to vote, and we all have the right to vote now. If you are physically capable to get out and, not only register but get out and vote, it is the best thing that we can do for our country right now." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Jennifer Holliday:

"This is going to be the most important election of our lives, and I know that we say that every four years, but this time, in 2020, this is one of the most important elections of our lives. It's just important to go and vote and to make sure that your voice is heard and counted." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Heidi Schreck:

"Everything is at stake with this election. The very survival of our democracy is at stake. Some very fundamental human rights are at stake right now. If we don't all go out and vote, I really have a question about whether this country will survive as a democracy." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Oliver Butler:

"I am extremely nervous about the future of the country. This is the most consequential election in my life and possibly in anyone's life who is alive today. On the positive side, isn't it great to live in really important times where your vote has never mattered more? We have the opportunity to come together as a country and possibly move the country in a direction we want it to go." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Keala Settle:

"Circumstances as they are, at this point, it's gone beyond talking points, political stances. At this point it is now, I need one person that is in office that says they will look after people."

"I chose to vote this year with hope and love for a way of life that I believe will begin again. It just has to do with being a human being." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Jenn Colella:

"It's important to register to vote because it is your right to speak up about how you would like to be treated. You get a voice. Especially for women and minorities, we fought so hard for this right. To not exercise it now would be doing a great disservice to yourself and your fellow humankind." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Chilina Kennedy:

"I'm Canadian and I'm a resident of New York but I don't get to vote in the States. For me, I wish I could, so I just encourage everybody to vote always but especially now, this is an important one. Go out and vote for those of us who can't." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Kate Rockwell:

"Your voice is so valid and so important and the only way your voice is going to be heard is if you vote. We need you. Especially you're one of my Gen-Z voters, you have the potential to impact this election in a way that you don't understand. There are so many of you that will be registering for your first election this year. If you are registered, make sure you have a plan to vote." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Tiler Peck:

"Please use this time to exercise your right. We all fought to have this right so please go out and use it and make your voice heard." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Beth Leavel:

"Every vote matters, particularly now. It is our privilege and our right and I am so exciting about voting, particularly this year. I encourage all of you to find out how to register, particularly the younger people who haven't voted before." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Orfeh:

"Because your life depends on it. If you have fought to have the right to do something, why wouldn't you exercise that right?" WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Andy Karl:

"I think it's just a matter of, let's put the power back in our hands. We're all being inundated with all of this news all the time, it's all happening in front of us, and I think being so super involved, we're in real-time seeing everything as it is. I think voting will put a little bit of that control back into our hands. So, please get our there and do it and be a part of the conversation. We're all in this conversation together. It's not life and death, but it is life and death." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Paulo Szot:

"No matter where you live, no matter what you do, it is your right to choose who is going to rule, who is going to be your president, who's going to make the country the way you want it to be. I became an American citizen in 2014, and I'm very glad I can vote. I am registered in New Jersey and I'm going to vote on November 3. It is a very important time, not only for America but the whole world. Things that happen in America, they end up serving as an example to many countries around the world. So it's very important for us to be conscious about it, to be serious about it, and to take that responsibility ourselves." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Julie Taymor:

"That's what we have, as Americans that is the greatest gift that we have. We have to fight for voters to get their votes counted, but you have to believe in it. Because a no-vote is a vote. A no-vote is a vote for Trump. So you can not sit out." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Josh Groban:

"We are living in warp-speed, real time, the consequence of what a vote can do. The devastating consequences of what a vote can do, to our environment, to our society, to our fellow human beings. When I look back and I see that 100 million people chose to opt out of voting in the last election, it's inexcusable." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Judy Kuhn:

"There's always a lot of hyperbole around elections, but I think this really is the most important election in our lifetime. I really do feel like our democracy is at stake. I can't really wrap my head around everything that is going on, to be honest. This isn't a time for looking for perfection, and this isn't a time to sit on the sidelines. Everybody should register to vote, and everybody needs to vote." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Corey Cott:

"It is the most lucrative way to use your voice in our democracy is to vote. So please, please, register if you are of age, and vote. We need as many votes as possible." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Aaron Lazar:

"A dear friend of mine created a website called Suffrage Over Silence. It's just completely laid out state by state, with what the rules are in your state, mail-in versus walk-in, the whole thing, it's right there and it's so easy." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Amanda Green:

"A vote is your USA-given right. You've got to use it or lose it. It is the election of our lifetimes. The person who is our president now is stripping away everything that we hold dear. People are suffering, people are dying, everything we care about hangs in the balance. It couldn't be more important." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Telly Leung:

"This November, it's time to vote for the people that are actually going to have practical solutions. It's also time to vote for empathetic leaders. It's time to vote for people that are just good human beings. To me, this November, it's a clear decision." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Sierra Boggess:

"It is so, so vital that we register to vote. They have made it as easy as possible. It's our privilege, it is necessary. There are people's lives on the line with this election. Literally, their way of life is on the line. This election is about how to help the other. We are not in the country alone. This voting is the way that we come together and we make real change for the voiceless, the people who need us to do it." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Carolee Carmello:

"Of course in every election you should always vote, that's your right as a citizen and if we don't utilize that voice, we can't really criticize the people that are in office. If we don't take the time and energy to make our voices heard. But this time around, I feel like it's even more crucial than it has ever been in my lifetime to just express how we feel about what's going on in our country." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Rachel Bay Jones:

"I do feel that it's literally a life or death election, it's a life or death moment for our physical bodies and it's a life or death moment for our democracy. We've seen so much evidence that this is really a turning point, so it's a crossroads. It's up to us." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Liz Callaway:

"We need leadership and we need empathy. When I was young, I didn't vote. I think I was just lazy or something. But now, every vote counts. We can't take it for granted. I don't know what's going to happen but if everyone votes, then I think a change is a'coming." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Stephanie J. Block:

"November, we are fighting for the soul of a nation. You have to speak up, not only for yourself in a ten mile radius and what looks good to you down the block on your neighboring street or neighboring community, but by and large, because that's the only way it works now. We're a global community, whether you like it or not, this is the way the world works. We've got to get on board for the health of the world and that community, or else everyone is going to suffer and perish." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Max von Essen:

"When we talk about a political party that legislates against human rights and civil rights and human equality, or against science, then to me we're not talking about politics. I'm talking about morality. Register to vote, it is so important. I'm talking about equality and human rights and fairness, that's what's on the ballot, the moral compass of this country." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Cherry Jones:

"I can't believe that anyone needs to be told to vote at this point. But we know a lot of people who say 'well, I'm just not political, and I don't care, and my vote won't make a difference.' I believe it was Lincoln who said, if you want to predict the future, choose it. I believe the most significant election in our lifetime was three years and three quarters ago, but here we are again and we've got a new most significant election in our lifetime. If we want to preserve democracy, we all have to vote, and we all have to vote for Joe Biden." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW