Interview: Sophie Miklosovic of BALLETMET'S MARILYN at Davidson Theatre

 Ballet dancer Sophie Miklosovic grew up under the watchful eyes of Marilyn Monroe. Her oldest sister Abby had Milton Greene’s poster of the actress in a white tulle dress staring at the camera with a half-smile.

Miklosovic and Grace-Ann Powers play Monroe at the height of her popularity in BalletMet’s production of MARILYN, which runs Oct. 16-24 at the Davidson Theatre (77 S. High Street in downtown Columbus). Although Monroe died 38 years before Miklosovic was born, the Michigan native knows she has a heavy responsibility in carrying on the movie star’s legacy.

“Everyone knows she’s iconic,” Miklosovic said of Monroe. “Trying to portray her in the way she was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. MARILYN tells her story through movement instead of singing or acting. It’s been really fun and challenging, in a very positive way for me.”

What fascinates fans is not only Monroe’s work and fame, but also her vulnerability. The paparazzi forced the star to live in a white-hot world of flashbulbs. She was constantly in the spotlight but conveyed a sense of loneliness and frailty.

Bringing Monroe’s story to life takes a troupe of dancers and a co-production among BalletMet, Tulsa Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre. Shannon Rugani’s score and Dani Rowe’s choreography capture both the Hollywood icon and the vulnerable woman behind the image. BalletMet Academy students portray Monroe’s childhood, while TyLeigh Baughman and Claire Wessells bring to life the period when Monroe was known as Norma Jeane.

Rowe “clearly did her research” on Monroe, according to Miklosovic. The MARILYN cast was given two books and videos to study. Rowe also included a poem she wrote about Monroe for the show.

“A lot of movies about Monroe are all about her hardships and what she struggled with,” she said. “But there were also moments in her life that were happy. I don't know what people really expect to see, but it's a little bit more of the truth of who she was herself and her essence instead of what the headlines said.”

Miklosovic also did her own research, observing Monroe’s body language, facial expressions and gestures from movie clips and photographs.

“I’m trying to create that aura when I'm on stage being Marilyn,” she said. “For the audience, the wig does everything once you put it on.”

Since joining BalletMet at 17, Miklosovic has taken many iconic roles, including Mimi in LA BOHEME, Juliet in ROMEO AND JULIET, Odette/Odile in SWAN LAKE, Cinderella in CINDERELLA, and Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in THE NUTCRACKER. MARILYN marks the first time Miklosovic has had the responsibility of portraying a real person instead of taking on a character.

“I’d love to play someone like Elizabeth Taylor or Audrey Hepburn, two of my favorite actresses growing up, but honestly I don't know if you can get any better than Marilyn Monroe,” she said with a laugh. “It's going to be hard to top this.

“I love being immersed in a role to where you’re not thinking about your own line of thought or the world outside. In those moments, you’re really in. It’s fun to go there. The tiredness you feel afterward, both physically and emotionally, is satisfying to me.”

Her love for ballet started when she was young. Miklosovic was the youngest of three sisters. Her mother, Laurie, used to bring her along in a stroller when her sisters trained at a dance studio in Detroit.

After watching Polina Semionova perform a suite from CARMEN, Miklosovic turned to her mother and said, “I want to do that.”

That decision led Miklosovic to spend most of her teenage years away from her family. When she was 12, she moved to Chicago, living with a host family while she trained. After returning to Detroit for nearly a year, she moved to Sarasota, Fla., where she spent four years studying under Magaly Suárez at The Art of Classical Ballet.

“People told my mom she was crazy for sending me away at such a young age, but it was kind of the next step for me,” she said. “That’s why I have this sense of freedom. I can’t imagine what I’d be if it weren’t dancing. I love being on stage and performing.”

While Miklosovic has always loved ballet, dance hasn’t always loved her back. When she was 17, she sustained a sprained ankle shortly before audition season for second companies. Former BalletMet director Edwaard Liang nevertheless offered her a spot with the Second Company.

Second companies provide training opportunities for dancers who are not yet ready for the professional company.

“When I was hired, it was a shot in the dark, but Liang saw something in me and nurtured that,” she said. “I learned a ton from the other dancers and artists in the room. I don’t know if I’d be the dancer I am today if I wasn’t trained at such an early age.”

The sprained ankle was minor compared to what happened to Miklosovic last May. She was playing the lead role of Aurora in SLEEPING BEAUTY when she ruptured her anterior talofibular ligament on opening night at the Ohio Theatre. The injury resulted in an avulsion fracture.

“It was the worst moment of my life,” she said.

Miklosovic rehabbed over the summer, determined to return to the stage.

“I’m pretty good at adapting to what I have to do,” she said. “I didn’t accept the injury as ‘the new normal.’ I had a new mission, and that was to get back to where I was before it happened.”

Finding the confidence to handle disappointments and setbacks is one thing Miklosovic and Monroe share in common.

“This is one way I can relate to Marilyn internally, but not to say that my confidence is the way hers has been portrayed in recent movies and biopics of her,” she said. “I’m very hard on myself and my expectations for myself are higher than most people’s expectations for me.

“That was one of the things that really resonated with me after reading about her. I don’t think many 17-year-olds can go into a professional company with a huge amount of actual confidence because you really haven’t been tried yet. Every experience I’ve had, whether it was positive or negative, has helped me grow.”

Photo Credit: Jennifer Zmuda.

BalletMet is partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities throughout its 2026-27 season to collect much-needed donations. For MARILYN, audience members are encouraged to bring Lysol and paper towels to the theatre, where collection bins will be available for donations.

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