Sherri Shepherd Becomes First Woman to Play Genie on Broadway

Sherri Shepherd, 59, is now playing Genie in the Broadway musical "Aladdin" at the New Amsterdam Theater — and she is the first woman to take the role on Broadway.

The announcement alone would make news. The casting carries more weight because of who came before her. "All the Genies have been big, tall Black men, and Robin Williams," Shepherd said.

Shepherd is an actress and talk-show host, and the role marks a sharp turn in her career. When producers first offered her the part, she questioned whether they had contacted the right person. "I look like a gospel singer, but I'm not a singer — I got voted off 'The Masked Singer' in the fourth week," she said. She sold herself short on that count: she actually went out in the fifth.

She was equally blunt about her dancing. Shepherd noted that she was eliminated from "Dancing With the Stars" in Week 4.

What convinced her to say yes?

The doubts, by her own account, pushed her forward rather than back. "Anything that scares me, I say yes to," Shepherd said.

She agreed to a limited run in the production. Only after accepting did the significance of the casting register with her. "I thought, 'Sherri, what did you do?'" she said.

A matinee day at the New Amsterdam

Shepherd spoke before a 1 p.m. Wednesday matinee at the New Amsterdam Theater. The rhythm of that day shows the work behind the casting.

The hair and makeup supervisor, Cheryl Thomas, began working on Shepherd around noon. The actress then did vocal warm-ups and ran lines under her breath before the curtain.

The process turns a talk-show host into the Genie audiences know — the character Shepherd now plays in the famous blue velvet costume, a costume that, until this engagement, had only ever been worn on Broadway by men.

What does this change for Broadway?

The casting opens one of the musical's signature roles to performers who had never been considered for it, and it does so in a production still running at a major house. Shepherd's limited run gives the show a first: a woman in the Genie's blue velvet, eight times a week at the New Amsterdam.

Whether the door stays open beyond her run will depend on what audiences and producers take from it. For now, the actress who was voted off two competition shows is headlining a Broadway musical — and making history in the process.