Liisi LaFontaine, Solea Pfeiffer and the Wanted Cast Celebrate Sisterhood on Broadway
On opening night, the stars and creative team reflect on finding their voices, building community and welcoming Broadway’s next generation
What to Know
- Solea Pfeiffer, Liisi LaFontaine and Ledisi celebrate sisterhood in Broadway’s Wanted
- Pfeiffer reflects on her vocal surgery journey, while Ledisi shares how the cast helped her find community
- Writer Angelica Chéri hopes Wanted will welcome a new generation of Broadway audiences
For the company of Wanted, opening night on Broadway is a celebration of sisterhood, community and finding your voice. Set in 1893 Texas, the musical stars Solea Pfeiffer and Liisi LaFontaine as Mary and Martha Clarke, with Ledisi as Tallulah Clarke. Broadway.com caught up with the cast and creative team to discuss the personal journeys behind their performances and their hopes for the show’s impact.
“This is what I've always hoped I could do with my life, is be a part of something like this,” says Pfeiffer. For the actress, bringing Mary to Broadway comes after a period of uncertainty about her voice. “This time last year I was gearing up to have vocal surgery. I didn't really tell that many people about it and I was scared out of my mind. And so to think now a year later singing my heart out, feeling so spiritually like everything is going exactly how it should... Sometimes you go through scary times that end up on the other end having the time of your life. And so I'm living. I'm singing my heart out.”
Director Stevie Walker-Webb has a familial affection for the show’s leading ladies that extends beyond their onstage roles. “Liisi LaFontaine and Solea Pfeiffer are really my sisters,” he says. “They are pouring their entire souls out on that stage every single night. I don't think there are any other women alive that can do what they do.”
That sense of connection has also shaped Ledisi’s experience with the company. “I was very shy,” she admits. “[Pfeiffer and LaFontaine] were teaching me we're open and free and we care. There's a community here in Broadway that I love. I haven't had that experience in a long, long time.”
For book and lyric writer Angelica Chéri, who has been developing the work since 2014, the musical's arrival on Broadway comes with a responsibility to welcome the audiences who will shape the future. “This is the picture of Broadway,” she says. “We don't want it to just be a monolithic experience for one particular demographic. We want to keep Broadway alive, which means that we have to place it in the ears and then in the hands of a new generation.”
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