Krysta Rodriguez Takes Center Stage in Chicago—and Transforms Broadway Behind the Scenes

During the pandemic shutdown, many Broadway pros turned to “side hustles” to keep themselves afloat. Few, however, achieved the level of success enjoyed by current Chicago star and expert interior designer Krysta Rodriguez. A talent for luxe renovations led Rodriguez to become an in-demand decorator of star dressing rooms, which led to commissions for a Mamma Mia-themed suite at the Hyatt Regency Times Square and a Cunard cruise-themed green room at the 2026 Tony Awards. Sounds like a full-time career, right? Well, in the past four years, Rodriguez has managed to juggle her design business with acting on Broadway in Into the Woods, The Collaboration, Smash and now a limited engagement as Roxie Hart.

Rodriguez made her Broadway debut at 19 in the short-lived 2005 musical Good Vibrations. In the two decades since, she has played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family on Broadway and Liza Minnelli on Netflix (in Halston, opposite Ewan McGregor), plus stints in A Chorus Line, In the Heights and both Broadway productions of Spring Awakening. Just after the Tonys, she reflected on the joy of joining Chicago and the fun of transforming dressing rooms.

Have you recovered from the Tonys, and seeing Broadway stars relaxing in your gorgeous green room?
Not even close! I got to go in for a few seconds [during the show], and Sting was there. It was so cool to watch people enjoying themselves. We installed the room on the Tuesday prior and had to be back at Radio City on Monday at 8 a.m. to break it all down. The celebration was wonderful but short-lived.

Did you have to cut short your own post-Tonys partying?
I was a little more judicious than I usually am. [Laughs]

Was Roxie Hart on your Broadway bucket list?
It was always in the back of my mind. I saw Chicago with the original company when I was 13, and it opened my eyes to how edgy theater could be. I went to an arts high school in Orange County [California], and we did the first non-professional production of the show. Members of the Broadway company came out to direct and choreograph, and I played Hunyak the Hungarian. At the time, I wanted to be Velma because I’m dark and broody, but when I saw Charlotte d’Amboise play Roxie, it was life-changing. In a cool way, I think I’ve aged into it instead of aging out of it. Roxie’s thesis statement is, “I’m older than I ever intended to be.” She’s a woman grappling with aging and viability and fame, all these things you can only understand if you’ve been doing this a while.

You’ve had so many roles that aren’t dance-centric, people might forget you were in A Chorus Line 20 years ago!
I know! I get called upon to be a dancer every few years, although I don’t identify as a dancer. Working with Robyn Hurder in Smash? She is a dancer through and through. It’s a skill I can call upon if the role requires it, and fortunately, this role has a lot of flexibility. I got to run the “Roxie” number the other day with the ensemble, and they were like, “Which version?” Someone rattled off the name of the version, and the “boys” immediately got it. They’re there to make whoever comes in look good. You can’t ask for a better situation.

Any chance P!NK will join you on Broadway as Velma?
That is way beyond my pay grade—I have no idea! [Laughs] She was incredible on the Tonys, but there’s no indication of that, and I’m thrilled to be going in with Sophie [Carmen-Jones]. She is such a pro; she’s seen many a Roxie, and I feel so safe and comfortable with her.

Speaking of 20 years ago, what are your memories of being part of the original Broadway company of Spring Awakening?
I was also in the [2015] revival—I was part of Spring Awakening coming and going, which was incredible. I had seen it off-Broadway and thought, “I’ve got to be involved with this show somehow.” I was a fan first, and I put my whole heart into it. It was my second Broadway show. My first was Good Vibrations, which was a disaster from the jump, so at 21, I don’t think I would have had the perspective of what a beautiful, unique situation Spring Awakening was had I not had the other experience. And [as an understudy] I literally had a front row seat because I got to watch the show evolve and grow and touch people and launch careers.

You understudied multiple roles, which must have been fascinating.
I got to play all of them many times. My favorite was Ilsa, so to play it in the revival was such a joy and a surprise because it was 10 years later. I never imagined I would get to do that show at 30.

It’s lovely that the original company stayed close, and that you decorated Jonathan Groff’s dressing room.
I did Lea Michele’s for Chess, as well.

How did your design business get started?
It happened organically. My mom is a real estate broker, and part of her job is to stage or renovate a home. My grandfather was a general contractor; my uncles were all electricians; so it was a natural thing my mother passed on to me. Every home I grew up in was a fixer that we would renovate and sell. The first dressing room I had by myself was The Addams Family, and they said, “What color do you want to paint it?” I thought, “I get to paint the room?!” and that inspired me to bring in furniture. The Lunt-Fontanne has these gorgeous windows, and Nathan [Lane] had a designer and made a beautiful room downstairs, so I was exposed to this idea of designing dressing rooms.

Then the pandemic jump-started that side of your work.
Yes, once Broadway shut down, I thought, “This is a rare opportunity to follow a passion you wouldn’t have the time or energy to dedicate to it otherwise.” I decided to focus on renovations, something I already knew how to do. Then [in 2024], when Jeremy Jordan went into The Great Gatsby, he called me and said, “Hey, I have a little bit of money to design my dressing room. Do you want to help?” It was very nonchalant—just having fun, eating lunch, talking about design—but when we finished, someone in the building saw it and pitched it to The New York Times. They took photos, and the rest is dressing room history.

People are fascinated with dressing rooms, and you’ve been in plenty. What’s the biggest challenge in creating a home away from home in these old buildings?
Well, they’re ugly. [Laughs] It’s the ultimate lipstick-on-a-pig situation. I always say it’s like makeup: The goal is to highlight the good and hide the rest. And it’s temporary. I’ve done a few rooms where the show ran for two weeks, and I’ve done a few where the show ran for more than a year and the room was passed on. The one I did for Jeremy has lived on for many Gatsbys, and Jeremy even came back for a while, which was awesome. The challenge is to make something sturdy and comfortable and functional that covers ugly things. Once in a while, you get one you’re inspired by. I actually reached out to [Death Becomes Her star] Megan Hilty, because she was going into Nathan’s dressing room in the Lunt. I knew how beautiful that space was, so I asked, “Can I design your room?”

How do you balance your design business with life as an actor?
I don’t have a life otherwise. At one point, my design associate, Tyler Logan, who is in Moulin Rouge!, was doing a show in Taiwan and I was working in the Mediterranean, so we were having meetings at midnight his time, 6 p.m. my time, and noon New York time. The dressing room stuff is crazy because the install time is 8 a.m. Design hours are daytime and show hours are nighttime, so there isn’t a lot of time in between. I also design homes. Those are longer processes, which is nice.

You found a way for two sides of your career to complement each other.
More and more, I think actors are realizing that our skills can transfer to other things. Our passion, our drive, our ability to get up every day and keep going—those are good skills to have in any career.

You’ve beat breast cancer, your design work has been published in Elle Decor, and you’re about to star in Chicago. Is this the life you pictured when you moved to New York?
Yes and no. This is my 11th Broadway show, something I dreamed about as a kid. I dreamed about being good at design but never thought it would be for other people. Once I started, the dream was to marry the two somehow, and now I’m doing this thing I threw out into the universe. It can feel overwhelming, but I remind myself to soak it all in because this is exactly where I want to be.

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