Sky York Journal
Tony Awards 2025: Nicole Scherzinger Gets Emotional Sharing How Broadway Changed Her Life
No one was going to rain on Lea Michele’s parade.
Indeed, the Glee alum detailed the surprising story of how she personally made her Broadway debut happen in 1995 at the age of 8.
“There was an open call for the Broadway show Les [Misérables] and my friend wanted to audition,” Lea said in an interview with Elle published Oct. 20. “The night before, her father had a heart attack and her mother called my mom and said, ‘Please, you have to take her on the audition.’”
Despite the harrowing situation, the now 39-year-old saw an opportunity, though her parents were unaware of her hidden talents.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m going to try out too. If we’re taking her, I’m going to go too,’” Lea recounted. “My parents said, ‘Well, you can’t sing.’ But they didn’t know. I hadn’t ever sung before.”
She added, “I practiced in my room a song. I sang ‘Angel of Music’ from Phantom of the Opera.”
After auditioning during the open call, the Spring Awakening star—who shares kids Ever Leo, 5, and Emery Sol, 14 months, with husband Zandy Reich—noted that the casting directors were taken by her.
