Romy & Michele’s Musical Makeover: Laura Bell Bundy and Kara Lindsay Bring the Party to the Stage

When Laura Bell Bundy and Kara Lindsay hit the stage as Romy and Michele on October 14, the biggest challenge isn’t nailing the infamous interpretive dance from the movie’s climax—it’s keeping a straight face while doing it.

“I literally laughed for 90 minutes straight,” Bundy recalls of rehearsing the iconic routine. “She’s flinging me around, I’m making these serious faces, and I just couldn’t keep it together. My son asked me later what I was laughing about—I couldn’t even explain it.”

Lindsay, equally giggly, adds, “It’s with full seriousness. That’s what makes it so funny. You can’t help but leave rehearsal happier.”

That combination of silliness and sincerity is exactly what audiences can expect from Romy & Michele: The Musical, an adaptation of the 1997 cult comedy Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Directed with pop-colored exuberance, the new stage version features a book by Robin Schiff (who wrote the original film) and a score by Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay (“They’re geniuses,” Lindsay gushes). The result, Bundy says, is a show that amplifies the fantasy and flashbacks while keeping every quotable line intact. “The movie really lends itself to being a musical,” she says. “And the songs elevate the emotional moments but also keep the energy up—it becomes a party.”

Although they've never worked together prior to Romy & Michele, Bundy and Lindsay both have hearty resumes, and share one Broadway credit: Glinda in Wicked. Bundy is best known for her Tony-nominated turn as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, in addition to notable turns in the original company of Hairspray and the starry 2023 comedy The Cottage. Lindsay made her Broadway debut as Katharine Plumber in the original cast of Newsies in 2012, and had multiple runs as Cynthia Weil in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and recently served as standby for Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress.  

“We actually only met once before, teaching a master class together,” Bundy explains. “But we bonded over fertility, motherhood… those life conversations. And then we just admired each other from afar.”

Now, with Bundy’s son, six, and Lindsay’s, five, they’re living parallel mom lives in New Jersey, commuting into Manhattan to rehearse. “It was immediate [connection],” Bundy says. “There’s a lot of mirroring between what’s happening onstage and offstage for us.”

“We have so much in common,” Lindsay adds. “I feel like I’ve known her forever.”

It’s a dynamic that plays directly into the show’s themes of friendship, authenticity and self-acceptance. “These two characters live out loud,” Bundy says. “They don’t realize they’re not as cool as they think until they’re preparing for their reunion. What they really have is each other. That’s the thing most people don’t have.”

Lindsay nods: “They flail, they try to create this story, but in the end all they need to be is themselves. I think we can all take a page from that.”

For Lindsay, finding joy in her work these days holds extra importance. In 2024, she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy with reconstruction as part of treatment, which also included chemotherapy and radiation. Earlier this year, she shared her story publicly.

“It was a really hard year,” she says quietly. “I melted down. And then it was spring. My hair started to grow back at the same time the tulips were coming up. It felt like everything in my spirit, my body, was having a rebirth.”

Bundy leans forward. “She’s the strongest person I know,” she says. “She’s juggling rehearsals, motherhood, doctor’s appointments—it’s incredible. I have so much respect for her spirit.”

Though Lindsay now has no evidence of disease, she continues preventive treatment and medical monitoring. “It’s weird,” she admits. “People want to know, ‘Are you cancer-free?’ Yes, but there’s always risk. I’m doing what I can to prevent recurrence. Having Krysta Rodriguez [who battled the same diagnosis] as a friend and north star has been huge. She did it—and she’s thriving. That makes me confident.”

And that’s part of why Romy & Michele feels like a gift. “When you go through something so heavy, to get to do something so light and joyful—it’s medicine,” she says. “I get to still be myself. Cancer strips you of so much, but I still get to be me.”

Audiences can expect more than nostalgia when Romy & Michele: The Musical opens. The show promises bold costumes (“My mom would’ve told me to take half of these outfits off,” Lindsay laughs), platform shoes, quick changes and plenty of ‘80s and ‘90s throwbacks.

But Bundy hopes people leave with something more lasting: “Joy is the greatest form of resistance,” she says. “That’s what this show is about—the power of friendship, of being authentic, of being seen.”

For Lindsay, the hope is simpler: “The world is heavy right now. We all need laugh therapy. If people can turn off the news app, come in, and just have a good time, that’s the best thing we can give them.”

As they rehearse side by side, Bundy and Lindsay radiate the kind of warmth and humor that Romy & Michele celebrates—a friendship rooted not in imitation, but in shared joy, respect and resilience.

Watch the full interview with Laura Bell Bundy, Kara Lindsay and Paul Wontorek below!

Get tickets to Romy & Michele: The Musical!