photo by Mike Guo
Kaley Ann Voorhees, a  musical theater major, made her Broadway debut
in “The Phantom of the Opera” in New York City on Monday. “Phantom” is Broadway’s longest running musical. 

When Kaley Ann Voorhees received a call from her manager that she landed a role in a Broadway show, it took only about 10 days for her to move to New York City. Things changed quickly for the Ohio native who had to move to the Big Apple for a dream job.

“It was sort of a scramble for me to try to find a place,” Voorhees said on Sunday night in a telephone interview. “Luckily I was able to stay with a friend of a friend and I finally moved into my own sublet.”

On Monday, Voorhees made her Broadway debut playing the lead role of Christine Daaé in “The Phantom of the Opera” at the Majestic Theatre in New York City. Voorhees, who’s from Aurora, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, is the first leading actress to be born after the musical’s opening in the history of the New York production. 

     “I hoped that after I graduated I could sort of work my way through the ranks of being on Broadway,” Voorhees said. “ I wouldn’t have ever dreamed in a million years that I would be here, especially this early in my career.”

Just this summer the 20-year-old musical theater major was in Point Park University’s Playhouse Jr. “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Associate Professor and Musical Theater Coordinator, Zeva Barzell, who directed “Spelling Bee,” described Voorhees as an incredibly talented and versatile performer.

    “She’s an incredibly strong singer but she’s also an incredibly strong actress,” Barzell said Monday afternoon at Starbucks on Wood Street. “She’s very ambitious. She puts herself out there and you have to have a lot of courage to compete at that level and be successful.” 

Voorhees performs at least twice a week as the Christine alternate in “Phantom” opposite of Norm Lewis, a Tony-nominated actor and the first African American to wear the iconic half-mask in the New York Production.

“I’m sort of thrust into a little family. I have a cast who I can talk to and make friends [with] automatically,” Voorhees said. “I got very lucky that I was coming into a cast that’s very supportive and family-esque.”

Lucy Moon Fitzsimons, a junior musical theater major and friend of Voorhees said that she was born to play Christine.

“The role of Christine is very difficult to sing. Kaley, with her instrument, probably could have sang the Christine track when she was in middle school,” said Fitzsimons. “I definitely think that her voice helped her quite a bit in the casting process because there are only so many actresses that can sing this role comfortably.”

Voorhees credits her education and training at Point Park into helping her land the role as Christine in “Phantom.”

“Every bit of audition advice, voice and speech, everything that I absorbed in my classes definitely went into that audition,” Voorhees said. “Point Park very much shaped me into someone who could handle the pressure of the audition, stay composed, and focused.”

    To make a living as a working actor and to star on Broadway is a common goal for theater students, according to Barzell. Many Point Park graduates have appeared on national tours, Broadway musicals, cruise ships, television and film.

“We have a lot of students that do really well, but of course like anything, it’s a hard goal to achieve,” Barzell said. “Fortunately with their talent and training, [Point Park is] well represented.”

Although Voorhees is unsure how soon she will finish, she expressed that completing her degree is still one of her goals.

“I would love to finish my degree, it’s very important to me.  I’d like to get my BFA and I’d really love to get it from Point Park. It’s kind of hard when you’re not in Pittsburgh,” Voorhees laughed.

Many of Voorhees’ professors and classmates at Point Park are proud of her success, but are missing her as well.

“I adore Kaley.” Barzell said. “I’m so thrilled that she’s on Broadway, but I’m so sad that she’s not here, selfishly. She’s really got a bright light in her and [is]wonderful to work with. I couldn’t be happier for her.”