Beth Leavel Feels Barbra's Good Vibrations in Her Mamma Mia! Lair

“I’m in half of what used to be Barbra Streisand’s dressing room, so that gives me good vibes,” Beth Leavel jokes of her home-away-from-home at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre. A couple of decades after La Streisand reigned in Funny Girl, Leavel is making the space her own as she settles into the role of Donna Sheridan in the megahit musical Mamma Mia!. The Tony-winning leading lady showed off her keepsakes—most of them gifts with sentimental value—when Broadway.com dropped by for a pre-performance visit.

Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com



"This framed picture from Tony Awards night [2006] was made by my friend Mandy, who is a teacher in Maryland. She decoupaged the frame."



"This is Clancy. He goes with me into every dressing room because he’s cool! And he can double as a pillow if I need something to hug."



"My lucky acorn was given to me by my dear friend Barry Hoff. We met when he was a dresser on Crazy for You and worked together on Drowsy Chaperone and Young Frankenstein. Barry, my favorite Texas native, says the acorn represents long life, so I carry it from show to show hoping for long life for the production."



"I bought angels for a couple of my leading lady pals so we can always have an angel with us in our dressing rooms. My angel’s name is Joy—she represents the spirit of joy...and strong vocal cords!"



"This is Beatrice, my drowsy monkey, made for me by Lizzy, a friend in North Dakota, when Drowsy Chaperone was on. She designed and made the whole thing and sent it to me. Beatrice goes with me everywhere!"