From Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson: MJ Star Sasha Allen's Incredible Career

Sasha Allen has spent her career embracing every opportunity that came her way. A Harlem native, Allen starred in an out-of-town tryout of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Whistle Down the Wind while she was still a freshman in high school. Shortly after graduating, she was cast in the cult classic film Camp and became a sought-after backup vocalist for artists like Christina Aguilera, Patti LaBelle and David Bowie. She later played the role of Dionne in the Tony-winning Broadway revival of Hair, competed on The Voice and toured with The Rolling Stones. Now she's back on Broadway as Katherine Jackson in MJ. Allen sat down with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek to discuss her part in the blockbuster biomusical and the experiences that have shaped her career.

Asked what makes MJ so effective, Allen doesn't hesitate to credit Lynn Nottage’s book. “This show is perfect, it’s solid. The writing is really, really good. Centering it around rehearsal time and just a few days with flashbacks of what certain songs probably brought [Michael Jackson] to. I thought it was really genius. The writing is awesome.”

For Allen, portraying Katherine carries a deeply personal connection. “I'm a mother too, so I felt just fortunate to be able to tell that story and to be that mothering. At the time I started [I was] pregnant, so I got to really feel all the emotions that I'm sure that she felt.” Allen describes Katherine as, “A quietly strong woman who had to uplift her children. I'm sure that her impact on them was just as important as the father.”

Allen's two Broadway roles have coincided with two very different chapters of motherhood. When she made her Broadway debut in Hair she was a new mother. “I was like this young mom still feeling really sexy and fun and I had my little beautiful daughter. But this time around, I now have three kids. I have a real connection with those three boys on stage, and it's a more centered, more calm and loving space. I really feel lucky. The continuation of that love that I have at home and in the theater, it's awesome.”

Looking back on Hair, Allen remembers a closeknit company: “We were those hippies. I swear, we really were. We loved each other in a way that I've never experienced before. So having Sierra be a part of that, my daughter, was unreal and once in a lifetime.” That bond hasn't faded with time. "We have a group chat that is still poppin'. We talk just about every day," Allen says of the cast. "I think there might be some things in there that can't be spoken."

Allen reunited with Hair director Diane Paulus when she took on the Leading Player in a national tour of Pippin, a role that pushed her out of her comfort zone. “I saw it on Broadway and I was like, they can't possibly really be considering me for this. How am I supposed to get on this trapeze?” recalls Allen. “We trained a few months before rehearsal started. Whoa, what a ride. I felt I was in the best shape of my life and I think at that time I was kind of having a hard time in life and I got to really release all of it on that stage. Everything seems like it just aligned.”

That willingness to embraces new challenges helped prepare Allen for her stint with The Rolling Stones. “A hundred thousand people a night. You don't even know what that energy feels like. I was beyond nervous. Once you're out there you're just like receiving like a wave of energy that you have to give back. So there's no nerves at that point. It's just like we're bouncing off energy.”

Reflecting on a career that has taken her from Broadway to stadium stages around the world, Allen says she's learned to trust her own path. “Being true to yourself is going to take you all over. I think just really enjoying myself and enjoying the voice that I have and what I have to give and not trying to sound like anybody else has helped me to see the world.”

Watch the full interview below!

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