Saturday, September 30, 2017

ARTSBEAT: Ziemba on Broadway Once Again

Karen Ziemba is returning to Broadway for the 11th time in The Prince of Broadway.  The musical is a celebration of the legendary career of director/producer Hal Prince and opened at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in August. It will play through October 22.

The new musical features both biographical material and songs from many of the shows that earned Prince a record 21 Tony Awards, including West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Evita, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and The Phantom of the Opera, and is led by a 9-member ensemble cast.

Born in St. Joseph, Michigan, Ziemba made her Broadway debut in A Chorus Line as Diana Morales. Later, she played the lead of Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street, Polly Baker in Crazy for You, Roxie Hart in Chicago, and Belle Hagner in Teddy & Alice.  She has also graced the Broadway stage in the companies of Steel Pier, Never Gonna Dance, Curtains, and Bullets Over Broadway.  She won the Tony Award for “Best Featured Actress in a Musical” for her performance in Contact, playing the role of "the timid, abused mafioso's wife."
-Staś Kmieć