Sherri Shepherd Talks Making Dreams Come True and Making History as Genie in Broadway's Aladdin

You ain’t never had a friend like her! Daytime Emmy-winning talk show host, actress and comedian Sherri Shepherd is making history as the first female Genie in Aladdin on Broadway. The multi-hyphenate began her run earlier this month and will perform in Disney's blockbuster musical through January 3, 2027.

“I am on cloud nine,” Shepherd tells The Broadway Show host Tamsen Fadal. “I cannot wait for the time when I see a girl walk in wearing a Genie costume.” Shepherd is excited to expand the public’s idea of who can play certain roles, speaking to “the fact that women will walk in and say, ‘I could play the Genie,’ that young people will say in their high school, ‘Oh, I can audition to be the Genie.'"

Aladdin marks Shepherd's return to Broadway after a 12-year absence. She was last seen in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella as evil stepmother Madame alongside Keke Palmer as Ella. “A girl came up to me and she showed me a picture of when she was about 10 or 11 years old. She was standing between Keke and I, and she said, ‘I just graduated from college with a degree in journalism and theater. I want to be an actress because I saw you and Keke on stage,’" Shepherd recalls. "I love the fact that that happened. That's how you plant seeds.”

As for the wisdom Shepherd imparts on aspiring performers, the show business veteran stresses the importance of discipline and persistence. “Don't be afraid of hard work because at the end of hard work, that's when the amazing happens,” she says. “Whenever I see anything that looks easy, I go, ‘They've been working really hard to make it look so easy.’ If you really want it, have that in your head, have that in your heart.”

Hard work certainly applies to the grueling demands of a Broadway performer. “I have to warm up my voice. I have to stretch. I have to sleep. I got to drink more water. Genie's looking for the bathroom. Where's the bathroom? Where's the chair to sit down? Genie is menopausing. That's what I bring that the other Genies don't bring,” Shepherd jokes.

Thankfully, she has an arsenal of performer pals to call upon for guidance. “Kristin Chenoweth, she gives me all kinds of advice. Her and Wayne Brady, and Michelle Williams from Death Becomes Her. They keep saying, ‘It's not a sprint. This is a marathon. You have to pace yourself.’ Because I came in like, ‘Ayyyyy!’ I got tired in two minutes,” Shepherd shares. “[Chenoweth and I] both came out of our mother's wombs yapping, yapping, yapping. So Kristin was like, ‘You have to shut it down.’ She bought me a mask that says, ‘I'm on vocal rest.'"

“Let me tell you what my countertop and nightstand looks like. I got a nebulizer. I got a face steamer. I got something I strap on my body. I look like doggone RoboCop because it's massaging every part of my body,” cracks Shepherd. “I have a neti pot. I also have ginger tea, turmeric tea, anti-inflammation tea, happy tea. Girl, I got it all.”

Shepherd is staying in tip-top shape in part because she doesn’t take this opportunity for granted. “I get to create the energy that Genie brings and I got this power. I get to create the wishes and make dreams come true,” she says of her fantastical character. “That's what I love, is that girls will say, ‘I'm not waiting on somebody to choose me. I get to make things happen.'"

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