Misty Copeland now a “Principal” dancer at the American Ballet Theatre who happens to be the first African-American ballerina. It’s been announced that the trailblazer will make her Broadway debut in the Leonard Bernstein musical ‘On The Town.’
The show will premier at the Lyric Theatr and Rita Wozniak the house receptionist said…“The phones started ringing off the hook immediately.”
Copeland is feeling the pressure saying, “It’s not an easy transition, Broadway and ballet are two different worlds.” She will play the lead Ivy and says that after seeing a few performances and learning more about the the show, “stepping into this role couldn’t be more fitting.”
Sono Osato, a Japanese-American dancer, played Ivy in On The Town’s 1944 debut, in the middle of WWII. Misty, acknowledging the musical’s legacy,“This is a very special way for me to have my first introduction to the Broadway world. I’m so hard on myself, but if there’s one part for me to play on Broadway, this is it for so many reasons.”
As legions of young minority girls admire her as a ballerina, she hopes joining a Broadway show will give them one more dream to aspire to. “It gives them hope to be able to be on a stage like this as well,” to be a black woman and step into the cast, that’s powerful.”
