Interview: MANDY GONZALEZ IN CONCERT at BroadStage Santa Monica

Broadway powerhouse Mandy Gonzalez has built a career portraying some of musical theater’s most iconic women, from Nina Rosario in In the Heights to Elphaba in Wicked and Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton. 

Now, the California native is heading back to where she started for a one-night only concert at BroadStage in Santa Monica on February 28. The intimate solo show will weave together songs from across Gonzalez’s career, with personal stories about her journey from a Santa Clarita theater kid to Broadway stardom. 

BroadwayWorld caught up with Gonzalez to talk about coming home, her most meaningful rolesso far, and what audiences can expect from the show. 

As an LA native, this show is a homecoming for you—How does that feel?

It’s very exciting. My parents are super psyched. My brother will be there. I have tons of friends coming — high school friends, friends from growing up. I grew up in Santa Clarita Valley, in the Saugus area. You would tell everybody, “I live by Magic Mountain,” and then everybody would know where you lived. But I left for New York about 25 years ago.

It’s very special because I haven’t been home to sing in a long, long time. So it’s very exciting to show people what I’ve been doing and let them in on my life a little bit, as much as I can in a show.

Do you have old mentors or teachers who still come and see your LA shows?

Absolutely—from high school. I was at CalArts for about a year, and then I was cast as a backup singer for Bette Midler. I got that job and then ended up going on the road and never coming back. I remember telling my mom it would just be a year. And, yeah, here we are.

You have played some of the most iconic roles in musical theatre! Elphaba and Angelica Schuyler, to name a few. Is there one role that really left its mark on you?

I think all of them have. I feel so lucky to have been able to portray such incredibly strong women, but also vulnerable women that so many people can relate to.

The one that stands out for me the most is Nina Rosario in In the Heights, just because that show means so much to me. The music from that show means so much. It’s how I connected with Lin-Manuel Miranda and so many of my friends to this day. Whenever I sing one of my songs from that show, I have so many young people—really all ages now—come up to me and tell me how much, especially the song “Breathe,” means to them and how much it helped them get through a hard time. That’s the dream as an artist—that you create work that really means something to people. Originating that role holds a very special place in my heart.

You grew up seeing theater in Los Angeles. What do you remember most about that?

My mom would take me to the Taper or the Ahmanson or wherever I could see shows. I remember collecting those Playbills and looking at all of the actors in their bios. I still do. I would memorize their faces. When I became a professional, I would see people at auditions and say, “Oh my gosh, I saw you in this show,” and they probably thought I was crazy. But it opened the door for me to see what theater was.

I remember I saw Smokey Joe’s Cafe when it opened in L.A., and I was like, ‘This is amazing. This is what I want to do for a living.’ I saw Ragtime before it went to New York. I didn’t know a lot about Broadway at that time. 

L.A.’s theater scene opened my eyes, but New York is where I felt I had the chance to do what I wanted to do.

Even with your film and TV work (including Madam Secretary, Only Murders in the Building, along with film projects such as Across the Universe) are you still a theater kid at heart?

Oh, yeah. I love it so much. I go and see the shows. I read new plays that are coming out. I keep up with what’s going on online. I love this world and this community. That theater kid has grown a lot from my younger days, but my heart still beats for the theater community. I don’t think that will ever change.

Tell us about this solo show.

It will be highlights from my whole career: Songs that I absolutely loved, growing up in Los Angeles, woven in with stories and songs that I’ve done on Broadway. I’ll even do a song from a very short-lived show I did called Dance of the Vampires, which I starred in alongside Michael Crawford. It didn’t last long, but songs last forever.

I’ll be singing that and telling stories from all those different experiences. I’m hoping the show can inspire some theater kids—and some theater adults—to explore a little bit more into this world.

Are there songs that you always have to sing? Like, do you always do Wicked and Hamilton?

Absolutely. If I didn’t, even my mom would say, “Why didn’t you sing that?”

I started singing “Breathe” when I was about 26. Now that song means something different to me. Even “Defying Gravity” takes on a new life when I bring it into the concert. Especially with the movie—if you don’t give homage to Wicked, it would be a faux pas.

How does it feel to stand on stage and not be playing a character—to have it just be… you?

It feels very comfortable for me. I feel very much at home on stage and connecting with people in a much more intimate way. I don’t mind showing all my vulnerabilities and allowing people into my world. I think at this point in my life, there’s a lot that I’ve been through, and I think that I look at it as, 

If you’ve come to spend an evening with me, I hope you can feel a little bit less alone. That’s my goal.

What do you hope audiences take away from the evening?

I hope they feel a lot of life and excitement. I hope they know that the live experience is important to celebrate and support. I hope they feel like they’re on that stage with me.

OK, lightning round: Answer these questions with the first thing that comes to your mind: 

OK.

First Broadway show you saw: 

Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews.

First role you ever played:

Bielke in Fiddler on the Roof at the Showboat Theater.

Dream role:

Mama Rose.

Go-to karaoke song:

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin.

Hot tea or vocal steam:

Hot tea.

Favorite place in L.A. to see a show:

The Pantages.