Julie Benko, Broadway’s New Emma Goldman, on Ragtime & Funny Girl

Julie Benko, Broadway’s New Emma Goldman, on Seeing Ragtime Through a Parent’s Eyes and What Funny Girl Did to Her Nervous System

In November, Shaina Taub shared a vulnerable message on social media detailing her reasons for planning a three-month leave of absence from her role as radical anarchist Emma Goldman in the Broadway revival of Ragtime. To fill her revolutionary shoes from January 9 to March 29, the production tapped Julie Benko, a Broadway veteran known for producing diamonds when the pressure is on.

Benko cut her teeth as a swing in the national tour of Spring Awakening, and then performed a handful of ensemble tracks in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Misérables, understudied eight different roles in the 2015 revival of Fiddler on the Roof, and, in 2022, turned yet another understudy gig into a breakout performance as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. “All of those were such good training in terms of learning how to manage your nerves, stay organized, do your homework, and then ultimately trust that you will get through it,” says Benko. Jumping into Ragtime after only a few rehearsals was far from effortless, but, she reflects, “compared to what I did before, I feel so much more supported and ready.”

Read more about the six-second audition that solidified Benko’s place at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, the fortifying piece of Funny Girl that’s followed her to Lincoln Center, and the New Orleans jazz music she’s got cooking on the side.

Tell me how this opportunity to step into Ragtime came about.

I was in rehearsals for Guys and Dolls at Shakespeare Theatre in D.C. — I was just playing Sarah Brown there — and I got a call from my manager saying, “Shaina is gonna be taking a leave of absence and the team is very interested in having you come in. But [composer] Stephen Flaherty wants to make sure that you can sing one low note. Can you make a voice memo of you singing one phrase from ‘He Wanted to Say’ so he can make sure that you have a low E?’” So I went home and I literally just recorded a voice memo that was about six seconds that went [singing] “He wanted to say I am here because I have to be.” I did it like 10 times because when you have five seconds, you overthink it. [Laughs.]

Have you been able to talk to Shaina about the role?  

Immediately I texted her, and she said, “I love the idea of you stepping in for me. Let me know if you have any questions at all.” She is the absolute best. Truly beloved in the company and in the business for good reason. She left me this lovely gift on my station right before I started: a young-adult historical fiction book called Loudmouth: Emma Goldman vs. America. I’m gonna read it as soon as I finish reading Emma Goldman’s autobiography, which I’m still in the middle of because it’s almost 1,000 pages long.

What parts of your Emma Goldman research have you been able to bring to your performance?

I think I had this idea of her as this sort of stodgy, severe, political mind. The more I’ve read about her in her own words, she was incredibly passionate in her public life and in her political thought, but also in her private life. She had all of these lovers. She was sort of what we would now call polyamorous. She was truly living this liberated life in the 1890s. We don’t see any of Emma’s private life in Ragtime, but I think it’s all tied into her politics. How can I not just make her this stodgy figure but make her fun and funny and lively, because I really think that’s the kind of person that she was. And that’s why people were drawn to her.

Had you seen this production of Ragtime before you joined the show?

I had seen it at City Center when I was a million months pregnant. There weren’t enough tissues in the world. It was like three days before my due date. I kept saying, “The baby can’t come before I see Ragtime!” I thought that watching “Wheels of a Dream” nine months pregnant was moving, but then a year later, I got the call and saw the transfer at Lincoln Center, and I was even more moved. And I was different as a mom of a 1-year-old by then. Any time that the little girl was in trouble, any time Sarah as a young mother was going through something, it hit me so much more deeply. I went backstage at intermission because I had run out of tissues and went to get more. I saw Joshua and he was like, “Welcome to the cast!” and I just kind of fell into his arms. And that’s how I met Joshua Henry. [Laughs.]

How did you feel going on your first night?

I had sort of shot out of a cannon to go into the show. I had a few days of rehearsal, I had my put-in on Friday, and then my first show was that evening. Right before I went on stage for “The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square,” I very briefly felt like I was gonna throw up. I was so nervous. And then one of the dressers walked by — her name is Diamond — and she was one of my Fanny dressers in Funny Girl. When I saw her walk by, I thought, “OK, she was there for that, and I did that. Now that she’s here for this, I know I can do this.” And I pulled it together.

Funny Girl was a huge turning point in your career — and an unorthodox one because it’s so rare for an understudy to grab an audience’s attention the way you did. Do you remember when you first felt things shift during that run?

I was scheduled to go on the whole weekend after opening night. I did four shows. And I remember after that, on social media, there was this response that I had never seen before. I was really overwhelmed. I was so hyperfocused, I was so nervous, and I really felt kind of sick for a couple weeks afterward. My whole nervous system reset because the experience was so intense. I was nauseous and I couldn’t eat and I remember my manager said to me, “Well, you birthed something in a way, so it’s like you’re having a little bit of a postpartum experience.” Eventually I started to come back to Earth, and the more I went on as Fanny, it started to become more normal. But the first time I was on the subway and someone came up to me and said, “Are you Julie Benko?” you just go, “What? I’m being recognized on the subway?!”

While you’re doing Ragtime, you’re also preparing for your February 16 Mardi Gras concert at Birdland and an album release. You’ve got a lot of plates spinning!  

Yes! It’s kind of crazy that it turned out this way. My husband and I have been leading this band called Euphonic Gumbo, which is a band that plays New Orleans music, and every year at Mardi Gras we have this concert at Birdland. It’s a really big party. And this year is the big album release. So … I’m tired. [Laughs.] I can’t believe this is all happening: Ragtime, the album, and, of course, I have a 1-year-old baby. So there’s a lot going on.

Does the limited run of it all help you keep this whirlwind in perspective?

I think when you know it’s short, you really just try to enjoy your time. I feel like I’m gonna get a chance to develop my version of the character but also have that awareness that it’s ending, so I hope that keeps me appreciating every moment. I’m really lucky. This is no shade on other shows, but to be a part of a cast where there’s no stunt casting — everybody is there because they have worked their way up within this field to be at the top of their craft — I’m just so grateful that I get to be there. And it’s selling out every night. I just think it’s such a testament to the power of the show and to the power of what theater can be.