Christine Sherrill is Making Her Broadway Debut in Mamma Mia! Right on Time

Christine Sherrill knows a thing or two about second acts. After years performing in Chicago, raising three sons, and playing standout roles on regional stages, she’s finally making her Broadway debut—leading the cast in the role of Donna in the return engagement of Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theatre.

“All this time. It’s crazy,” Sherrill says. “I’ve had such a unique journey here. My life has been really layered and complex. I’ve been a mom, I’ve raised a family, I’ve been a teacher and an actor in Chicago. I’m thrilled to finally be here.”

Sherrill is no stranger to Mamma Mia!. She’s played both Tanya and Donna on tour and in the show’s Las Vegas company, and she’s been part of the Mamma Mia! “family” for years. Walking onto the Winter Garden stage for the first time in rehearsals was a powerful moment.

“It was cool to walk on stage with the creative team, who I’ve known for a while,” she recalls. “They had such a visceral reaction to it. This show has been a part of so many lives for so long, and for me too. To now have this as the pinnacle of my career—it’s really cool.”

Her casting as Donna marked a shift from the kinds of roles she’d been known for in Chicago. “I played Elise in First Wives Club, I played Audrey [in Little Shop of Horrors]—lots of heels,” she laughs. “Tanya was totally in my wheelhouse. But this creative team has a knack for taking chances on actors, putting them in new roles, and seeing what happens. Donna is actually more of who I am.”

Taking the show across the country reinforced for Sherrill just how much joy Mamma Mia! brings to audiences. “The creative team talked about how important the show was to New York after 9/11. I think it’s similar now—people need healing, connection, joy,” she says. “It’s a communal experience. Everyone knows the music, everyone loves the story. Even in towns where we wondered how we’d be received, the response was incredible.”

That sense of connection extends to the relationships onstage. Sherrill treasures the unexpected feedback she’s heard at the stage door. “Women and girls tell us the most emotional moment for them isn’t a ballad—it’s the bedroom scene where [Donna, Tanya and Rosie] are goofing around. They say it’s because it shows unconditional love and support. The three of us onstage have that in real life, and I think it shows.”

Sherrill is quick to credit her family in Chicago for making this Broadway chapter possible. “I have an incredibly supportive husband and three boys who’ve been magnificent through all of this,” she says. “If I get the jitters, they’re in my camp. My youngest calls me Girly Pop—he’ll say, ‘You got this, Mom.’ They want me to succeed. I couldn’t be luckier.”

For Sherrill, the timing couldn’t be better. “My path was kind of convoluted,” she says with a smile. “But it was perfect.”

Watch the full interview below.