On the New York Times describing her break as a "15 year intermission" and what made her decide to step away I was waiting for this day to show this child that I'm cooler than his father – I sang with Elmo, hello! I literally held this back from him for years, until the right moment and I put it in front of him one day and I said, "Do you know who that is?" And he's like "It's the pocket queen." And I'm like "Yeah, yeah, but do you know who that is?" And he's like, "Mom, it's the pocket queen." And then I was like, "It's me." And he's like, "No, it's somebody else's momma, not you." ĭo you know my son did not recognize or even believe that was me? It hurt my heart. I will dress as a bird I will be a plane, whatever you need me to do.". When they were like, "You're going to sing Sesame Street" and with Elmo, and I have a song with Elmo, I was like, "I will do whatever you want me to do. When they called me to do that Sesame Street thing, I think it was the only thing that I was waiting for in my life. HH: That was the crème of my crème that was the nail in it. On her role as the pocket queen in the Sesame Street DVD, Elmo's Magic Cookbook So I'm incredibly honored, grateful to be a part of that show. I think he was crying for different reasons.īut I was bawling at the fact that here was thing that I did that it's still standing and that I could bring my own child to see it and that audiences are still being affected by it.
You know when I got pregnant with my first son, I saw it and decided that I wouldn't see it again until I could see it through his eyes and at no point, Michel, was I ever concerned that I would not be able to take him, that the show would close, that he would not see it at his height and so a few months ago – he's 6 and half now - and I took him in to see it and he and I both sat there. It's just been such a great honor to be a part of it.
And they found a little hole in my contract and said, "Hey, we'd like you to come audition and it's The Lion King." And I remember seeing it and being like, "I don't know if this is going to work, I just don't know if this show is going to work." And here it is. When I got that audition to go in, I was actually understudying Audra McDonald. And here's the deal, if I ever tell you that your show is not going to be a hit, it's going to be a big hit. On being selected for Lion King while still at Northwestern and if she had any idea it become a phenomenon It's been a beautiful journey to be back here. I come back with a sense of awe for what we do here in New York.
I think the Heather of 15 years ago - when you saw Aida - she talks to me every now and then and says, "Remember this? Remember these streets? Remember walking here? Remember how you felt?" So I come back with a sense of gratitude, incredible gratitude. It has been an extraordinary time an extraordinary process, coming back in to the show and coming back here to New York. On what it's like being back on Broadway after the "15-year intermission" Well, sort of - she took a break to focus on music and family. In the U.S., Headley continued to hone her skills in the arts and on leaving Northwestern University made a splash on Broadway, first as Nala in the original Lion King in 1997, then as the title character in the Elton John and Tim Rice musical Aida, for which - at just 26 years old - she won a Tony for best actress. She moved with her family to the United States in the early '90s. Headley is a native of the twin-island republic Trinidad and Tobago in the South Caribbean, where she started singing and playing the piano in church at a very young age. One such example is singer and actress Heather Headley, who epitomizes this in ways few others do. After all, for many people, there are indeed second acts. Scott Fitzgerald quote that goes, "There are no second acts in American lives." Some may beg to disagree. Singer and actress Heather Headley (center) returns to Broadway after 15 years to wow audiences in her role as Shug Avery in a revival of The Color Purple.