Misty Copeland, named as the first black principal ballerina at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre last week, is taking a side trip to Broadway, where she will star in the classic musical “On the Town.”
Copeland will star as Ivy Smith, a winner of a beauty pageant who catches the attention of three sailors on leave in New York City. She will join the cast at the Lyric Theater for two weeks toward the end of August, replacing Megan Fairchild of the New York City Ballet. Copeland is bound to attract crowds to the show, which has been well received by critics but has lagged at the box office.
She hopes that Broadway will expose her to a wider audience and and raise the pop culture profile of ballet, which has received a surge of attention since her rise at the American Ballet Theatre, and from her advocacy for more diversity in the ballet world. “People are recognizing that it’s not about me as an individual but about what I stand for,” she told Time.
“On the Town’s” producers noted that the show “has a long history of progressive, diverse casting,” with the role of Ivy Smith filled by Japanese-American dancer Sono Osato in the original 1944 production.
Here’s a ballet scene from the musical: