It’s Halloween! In honor of the haunted holiday, we asked Broadway stars to share with us some of their theater superstitions — as well as some of their preshow rituals that may or may not be spook-tacular traditions to keep the ghosts away for a good show!
Superstitions:
Alex Brightman, The Shark is Broken
“I don’t really believe in superstitions. I’m very glad that other people do, but I’ve never put much stock in them. That being said, I like to be respectful to some of the big ones. I won’t say Macbeth inside a theatre.”
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Spamalot
“I don’t like to fully decorate my dressing room right away. I like slowly making it my home as the energy of the show settles in.”
Jared Dixon, Hamilton
“My one theater superstition is that all the energy that’s ever been expended in a theatre by audiences, workers, and performers never dies. An actor I worked with years ago told me that and I always feel it whenever I walk into a space.”
Katie Rose Clarke, Merrily We Roll Along
“I do believe that if the final run-through of the show is terrible, then you will have an amazing opening night.”
Nik Walker, Spamalot
“Mackers. I refuse to say Macbeth while I’m in the house. And if I do, I will be running around the block. Not a joke.”
Sierra Boggess, Harmony
“No whistling in the theatre! I’m very much that person who tells people to stop whistling in the theatre!”
Melanie La Barrie, & Juliet
“Fundamentally I don’t! But in my theater bones, I definitely do. When I hear people whistling backstage, my heart always runs a little cold. Or I always want to make people go outside, turn around three times, and spit if they mention the name of the Scottish play in the wings!”
Jose Llana, Here Lies Love
“I have a few things in my room that are always there: lip balm, eye drops, and cherry flavored throat lozenges. The cherry flavor is to make sure my breath is always pleasant for my leading lady.”
Preshow Rituals:
Zoe Jensen, SIX
“At ‘places’ I have a specific voice warm-up I do every day and I have a Listerine strip. My fellow queens and I also pick a word to focus on for the show. Some of our favorites are breath, grounded, fun, and joyful. It gets me feeling relaxed and ready for the top of the show!”
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Spamalot
“I like hanging out with everyone before the show and saying hello. It’s a big show and we are all spread out, so connecting with everyone before we go onstage is important.”
Jared Dixon, Hamilton
“My preshow ritual — other than warming up — is taking 10 seconds of silence and stillness once I’m in costume. Nothing too serious.”
Katie Rose Clarke, Merrily We Roll Along
“I try to drink a full bottle of water while I’m getting into hair and makeup to make sure I’m well hydrated before I’m actually onstage. It means I also have to pee a lot.”
Nik Walker, Spamalot
“I warm up while watching a movie or TV show from my childhood. Usually it’s Batman: The Animated Series, Jurassic Park, or a good Mel Brooks film. Something to remind me that adventure is always out there, and that I play pretend for a living.”
Caesar Samayoa, How to Dance in Ohio
“I love ghost stories centered around our Broadway theatres! A ritual I do every time I move into a new theatre is to take a moment to acknowledge and thank our theatre ghosts. For me, that means the legends and casts that have stood upon the very stage I’m about to step onto. My current show, How to Dance in Ohio, is about to move into the beautiful Belasco Theatre. I’m reminded that legends such as Antionette Perry, John Barrymore, Al Pacino, the casts of Ain’t Misbehavin’, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, among countless others, performed on that stage. Taking that in and thanking them is a way to acknowledge that our show is now a part of that incredible tradition. I kind of also love that David Belasco’s ghost may be watching. So giving him a wave might not be such a bad idea!”
Sierra Boggess, Harmony
“Pull a word to focus on in the show from my light lessons [available on sierraboggess.com] if any other theater kids out there want to add that to their preshow ritual!”
Melanie La Barrie, & Juliet
“I really just wait until the very last minute to get myself ready. It’s almost like I must wait to put the skin of her on, until the very last second. Right before I go onstage, I bow my head and close my eyes and tell Melanie that she has to go away for a little while, so that Angelique can live. Is that a ritual? Perhaps. Or maybe it’s my contract with the spirits of all those other people who live in my imagination. Get out of the way so they can live!”
Montego Glover, Into the Woods
“I always say my first two lines silently offstage just before my first entrance.”
Jose Llana, Here Lies Love
“At 15-minute call, I always spend a little time sitting calmly in my dressing room chair and chill out. Sometimes I play calm music, sometimes not. It’s all meant to quiet my soul before I head into the energetic disco ride of Here Lies Love.”