07-05-2025
Behind the Scenes of Being a Working Mom on Broadway Performing 8 Shows a Week
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Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
Working nights can be rough for any mother who might be unable to tuck their kids into bed. Then there's being a working parent on Broadway, which has its own set of challenges and rewards.
There was some real 'mom guilt' for Lilli Thomas, currently starring as Mazzepa in Gypsy, especially last year during the holidays when the musical was in rehearsals. Thomas has two children, Jack, 11, and Annabelle, 13.
She was sitting in the theater next to six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, also a mom, and starring as Mama Rose. They were talking about how they're going all out on Christmas gifts that year since they'd be working so much. That's when Thomas checked the calendar on her phone and read a note from her daughter that she'll never forget.
'She wrote something along the lines of, 'This is the day of my chorus concert, but I know you can't come. Don't worry and don't feel bad. You're doing what you're supposed to be doing, and it is making me so proud of you. It is making me proud to go to my chorus concert knowing that I'm doing my singing and that you're proud of me. We don't have to be there every time for each other to know how proud we are of each other,' Thomas shared with McDonald.
Lia Chang Lilli Thomas, actress performing in "Gypsy" on Broadway with her two children.
Lilli Thomas, actress performing in "Gypsy" on Broadway with her two children.
Being on Broadway means performing in typically eight shows a week, including five evening performances and three matinees, with Mondays off.
In honor of Mother's Day, we spoke with Thomas and four other moms: Kristen Martin, who plays Delphi in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (kids Murphy, 4, and Vesper, 2). Bahiyah Hibah, ensemble in Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Soliel, 20), Jennafer Newberry, Glinda Standby in Wicked (Parker, 1), and Florencia Cuenca, Estela Garcia in Real Women Have Curves (Alonzo, 8), about how they balance their family with their grueling schedule.
How Do You Balance Eight Shows a Week With Motherhood?
Jennafer Newberry: As the standby, I have to embrace the uncertainty of when I may be on. Just yesterday, we had a two-show day, and I ran home between to take Parker to a classmate's birthday party. A few hours later, at bath time, I found out I was going on [for Glinda] that evening. Flexibility is key, and [my husband] Zach's partnership and support make the insane schedule we keep as Broadway mamas doable and maintainable. I could not do it without him. I have gotten to experience a few weeks of full-time Glinda on Broadway as a mother, and that is even more challenging. The late nights are inevitable, but so are the early wake-ups.
Kristen Martin: Honestly, I'm still figuring that out. I try to be as fully present and hands-on as possible when I'm home with my girls—those moments mean everything. Then, when I head into the theater, I switch into 'work mode.' I have to leave any guilt or exhaustion at the door, which is easier said than done.
Kristen Martin Kristen Martin performing in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."
Kristen Martin performing in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."
Lilli Thomas: I didn't perform for many, many years. It was just too hard when they were little. The big thing for me is finding the roles that are really rewarding, but are not the roles that are carrying the show. I am also a single mom. I have a lot of help from my mother, who lives close by. [After-school] activities have made it difficult, because I don't get to see them very much, but it's made it easier in this way that it's not all falling on me to provide their entertainment right now.
Florencia Cuenca: I'm still getting used to it. As immigrant parents in this city, we don't have any family members here, but our friends or "chosen family" have also helped us a lot. My husband, Jaime, is a musical theatre writer and composer, so his schedule is crazy too. Alonzo is very used to being in rehearsals, recording sessions, writing residencies, concerts, and running around the city with us.
Bahiyah Hibah: Balancing eight shows has always been a journey depending on the season, but I always make sure that rest and nourishment from within are present. When my son was younger, I had a village to help. There was no other way to do it.
Bahiya Hibah Bahiyah Hibah, performer from "Moulin Rouge!" with her son, Soliel.
Bahiyah Hibah, performer from "Moulin Rouge!" with her son, Soliel.
What Is Your Goodnight Routine Before Evening Shows?
Kristen Martin: That's the hardest part. I don't get to have one. I leave for the theater while the sun's still out, so I miss the bedtime routine every night, and that's heartbreaking. But before I go, they each demand at least a hundred hugs and kisses, and I try to focus on all the love and attention I've given them throughout the day. Do I feel depleted sometimes? Absolutely. But I also feel deeply grateful—I'm living two of my greatest dreams: performing on Broadway and being a mother.
Florencia Cuenca: If I am not home, my husband is the one who [puts] him to bed. They send me voice messages or photos when they are about to sleep. During weekends, he will wait for me to arrive [home] from my show and I will [put] him to bed. Sometimes they decide to surprise me and come to the show.
Lilli Thomas: Trying to do something with dinner together, even though we're not going to be eating it together, whether it's going to the grocery store and picking something out or cooking something together.
Bahiyah Hibah: My goodnight routine when he was younger was allowing my family member or babysitter to gently get him to bed, but often if he was awake when I came [home], we would take the time that he needed to reconnect.
Jennafer Newberry: I get to help with dinner time, but most of our evening shows are at 7 p.m. now, so I have to leave before bedtime. My husband started FaceTiming me during bath time and bedtime so I could be part of it. Missing bedtime is a real sacrifice as a parent on Broadway. Sunday and Monday nights have become sacred to me with Parker.
Do the Kids Ever See You Perform or Come Backstage?
Bahiyah Hibah: My son has seen just about every show that I've been in. When he was younger, he was definitely backstage with me. My cast and crew were so loving and so kind, and we have maintained lifelong friends because of the connection they all made with my son.
Jennafer Newberry: Parker has recently come to a few concerts I have sung at for Wicked! I am so grateful to be able to introduce her to the arts at an early age. So many mothers have paved the way at the Gershwin [Theatre] before me, and I am honored to join their ranks. Not all theatres and shows are as inclusive or supportive (we have a long way to go toward equity for parents in all theatrical spaces), and I feel so fortunate to experience motherhood surrounded by such amazing support. I breastfed for the first year, so when I was performing, I literally had to pump during intermission. And if I was ever on for a two-show day, my husband would bring Parker to the theatre between shows so I could feed her, and we could all spend time together as a family.
Jennafer Newberry Jennafer Newberry with her daughter Parker backstage.
Jennafer Newberry with her daughter Parker backstage.
Kristen Martin: They're still too young to sit through Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but Murphy has visited me backstage, and she loved it. My husband is also an actor, and she recently saw one of his shows. That was a big moment—it helped her begin to understand what we do for a living. It's such a wild and abstract concept to explain to a toddler, but that experience really clicked for her.
Florencia Cuenca: Alonzo loves coming to the show. He sees the show in a very active way, cheering and laughing, and he realizes when something in the show is a little different than the day before. He even gives me notes. And he is my biggest fan. Lately, when he comes to the show, he likes to do the stage door as an audience member. He is waiting for me and my castmates to ask us to sign his Playbill.
Florencia Cuenca Florencia Cuenca with her family outside of the stage door of "Real Women Have Curves."
Florencia Cuenca with her family outside of the stage door of "Real Women Have Curves."
What's One Misconception About Being a Working Mom in Theater?
Lilli Thomas: That you have a partner at home.
Florencia Cuenca: I have heard this one a lot: 'You need to rest. How are you doing it with your son?' The answer is I am a mother, a wife, an actor, and I am a professional. The fact that I have a family doesn't affect my ability to do my job on stage as the professional that I am.
Bahiyah Hibah: The biggest misconception is that it's impossible to have a career on Broadway and be a mother. It takes a village, but it's absolutely possible.
Kristen Martin: I think people often say, 'I don't know how you do it,' and my response is, 'Honestly, me either.' It's incredibly hard. The schedules are grueling, and the amount of energy required on both fronts, work and home, feels impossible some days. If anyone thinks it's easy, they're definitely mistaken. It takes everything you've got and then some.
Jennafer Newberry: I think a huge misconception is that it isn't possible. I have heard the false claim that you can't have a career and be a mother at the same time, and with excellence. It is simply not true. Is it challenging? Yes, but it is absolutely possible. If anything, my career and artistry have been enriched and grown since becoming a mother. We are absolutely capable of having a career and being excellent parents.
Jennafer Newberry Jennafer Newberry with her daughter in the "Wicked" dressing room.
Jennafer Newberry with her daughter in the "Wicked" dressing room.
What's Your Best Advice for Other Moms?
Bahiyah Hibah: There will be times in which you need to rest and spend valuable time with your family during birthdays and holidays, and sometimes just simple weekends, to reconnect. I would advise mothers to never overlook the fact that family should always come first. This is one thing I had to learn because I was very focused on my career.
Kristen Martin: Give yourself grace. We can't do it all, all the time. Sometimes we have to pause, care for ourselves, and remember that we deserve support, too. We're not superhuman — even if it feels like we have to be.
Lilli Thomas: Be kind to yourself.
Jennafer Newberry: My best piece of advice would be to embrace the journey with open hands. There are so many external and internal pressures and expectations, but doing our best to release those makes it easier to embrace the realities (beautiful and difficult) of this unique season of motherhood.
Florencia Cuenca: You will make mistakes, we all do. Don't feel guilty for going to work, by following your dreams, you are teaching your kid to do the same.
Florencia Cuenca Florencia Cuenca with her husband and son.
Florencia Cuenca with her husband and son.
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