Jeremy Jordan, Lizzy McAlpine and Jason Gotay on Floyd Collins' Ascent to Broadway

The Broadway Show

by Darryn King • Apr 18, 2025

Jason Gotay, Lizzy McAlpine and Jeremy Jordan
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)

For musical theater aficionados inclined to spelunk through the obscurest corners of the canon looking for treasures, Adam Guettel’s Floyd Collins—which ran for 25 performances off-Broadway in 1996—is a rare, shimmering gem, buried deep but well worth digging out.

This season, at last, the show gets its time in the light.

Lizzy McAlpine
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)

Jeremy Jordan, Lizzy McAlpine and Jason Gotay, who play siblings in the production, are reveling in the experience. “It’s literally insane,” McAlpine told Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek ahead of the show’s Broadway premiere at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. “I feel so grateful that we’re the ones who get to re-present this beautiful, beautiful show to the world.”

"They kept saying they were waiting for the right time to bring this back," said Gotay. "And if that 'right time' for Lincoln Center had been five or 10 years ago, we wouldn’t be here. So it really does feel like this moment was meant for us."

“And it’s such a unique opportunity that we have the original creators working with us,” said Jordan, meaning Guettel and book writer/lyricist Tina Landau, who also directs the new production. “It’s not a typical revival where you just put your own spin on it. I mean, we are putting our own spin on it, but it’s also about honoring the original vision. The writing is so beautifully crafted—you’re constantly pushing yourself to reach that level of artistry and match it."

Based on historical events of almost precisely one hundred years ago, Floyd Collins tells the story of a man who gets trapped in a Kentucky cave and becomes a media sensation. Floyd the character is, both literally and figuratively, in a very dark place. When he spoke to Broadway.com during a break from rehearsals, Jordan—ditching the elegant suits of his last Broadway role, as Jay Gatsby, for Floyd’s soil-streaked overalls—was still figuring out how to embody the struggle and claustrophobia of the character while protecting his own mental health. “I’m on stage for the entire show—even when I’m not the focus,” he said. “It’s hard not to let that ‘trapped’ feeling get to you. Early on, during run-throughs, I’d feel genuinely overwhelmed. I had to remind myself to chill out.”

Jeremy Jordan (Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)

And yet, Jordan hastens to add, “People hear ‘guy gets trapped in a cave’ and think it must be depressing—but it’s actually filled with joy and hope.”

Guettel’s score is characteristically sophisticated; Stephen Sondheim once named “The Riddle Song” from the show, with its elevated Appalachian folk, as one he wished he’d written himself. Think bluegrass mingled with Debussy. “We did a three-week workshop last November,” said Jordan. “I spent every day drilling the music. So when we started rehearsals for Broadway, it was more of a review. Without that, we’d be behind—it’s intricate. But once you grasp it, it’s incredibly rewarding. You find so much depth in it.”

“Actors live for this kind of material,” said Gotay, who plays Floyd’s brother Homer. “Complex characters, layered relationships. One of my favorite things is how impossible it is to describe this show in one sentence. In today’s world, everyone wants an elevator pitch. But Floyd Collins refuses to be boxed in—it’s broad, emotional, nuanced. I think audiences will love that.”

Jason Gotay
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)

It’s also the most physically still role Jordan has ever played. “‘Park and bark’ is real—I barely move for entire songs. It’s a wild challenge. But Adam’s music fills the space. And the Beaumont—while technically a Broadway house—feels so intimate. It’s perfect.”

McAlpine, a singer-songwriter best known for her cozy folk-pop and a regular presence on the Billboard charts, was a high school theater kid. As a freshman, she had a small part in Thoroughly Modern Millie; senior year, she was playing Penny in Hairspray. At the time, she imagined herself pursuing acting in college, but a successful audition for Berklee College of Music nudged her down a different path.

Returning to acting—on Broadway—has been an exhilarating realization of her passions. “This has been my dream forever,” she said. “And to debut in this show? It’s perfect. I’m just so honored.” Her co-stars say the role of Floyd’s sister Nellie feels tailor-made for her. She’s inclined to agree. “Even at my first audition, it just felt right. The songs, the character—it clicked. It felt like divine timing.”