Before Fred Astaire was gliding across silver screens and Ariana Grande was selling out arenas, they were just kids cutting their teeth on Broadway stages. For many actors, Broadway is the be-all and end-all; for others, it’s merely a launchpad. Here are 10 celebrities who got their start on the Great White Way.
1. Jason Alexander
George Costanza? In a musical? You’d better believe it. Alexander’s professional debut was as Joe Josephson in the infamous Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim flop “Merrily We Roll Along” in 1981. But this wasn’t just a one-time thing—despite being best known for his time on “Seinfeld,” Alexander has constantly worked in the theater, most recently appearing in 2024 in “Fiddler on the Roof” at La Mirada Theatre (directed by fellow “Merrily” alum Lonny Price). Fun fact: During the rehearsal period of “Merrily We Roll Along,” Alexander told Sondheim he had a difficult time with chromatics, so Sondheim came back a few days later to give him Joe’s part in “It’s a Hit!”—which was entirely chromatics.
2. Fred Astaire
While Astaire’s elegant and captivating dance performances would eventually come to define the movie musical in the 1930s and ’40s, his career began on the stage. Alongside his sister and dance partner, Adele, Astaire performed in vaudeville reviews around the country before eventually landing a role in the musical revue “Over the Top” in 1917, performed at the now-demolished Lew Fields’ 44th Street Roof Garden. Astaire went on to appear in nearly a dozen Broadway shows, all before his first film role in MGM’s “Dancing Lady.” And the rest, as they say, is history.
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3. Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Best known for playing the uptight Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom “Modern Family,” Ferguson’s big break came in 1998 when he played Chip in a revival of “On the Town.” Although “On the Town” was his first Broadway credit, arguably his most well-known credit came several years later in 2005, when he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
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4. Ariana Grande
Grande is best known to the masses for her role on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious,” her music, and, most recently, her Oscar-nominated role as Glinda in 2024’s “Wicked” (not to mention the film’s iconic press tour). While her casting may have come as a surprise to some, long-time fans know that starring in a musical was a return to her roots. Grande made her professional debut on Broadway, playing Charlotte in Jason Robert Brown’s “13” in 2008 at only 15 years old. In hindsight, the entire cast of “13” was filled with future stars: Elizabeth Gillies (“Victorious,” “Dynasty”), Graham Phillips (“The Good Wife,” “Riverdale”), and Eric Nelsen (“1883”) all starred alongside Grande as teens.
5. Diane Keaton
Her roles in a slew of Woody Allen movies (“Play It Again, Sam,” “Sleeper,” “Annie Hall”) and Nancy Meyers films (“Baby Boom,” “Father of the Bride,” “Something’s Gotta Give”) made Keaton a household name, but few know that she got her start in the theater. She was a member of the original Broadway cast of “Hair” in 1968, appearing in the ensemble before eventually taking over the role of Sheila later that year. Want to hear it for yourself? Her solo line in “Black Boys/White Boys” starts at the 27-second mark.
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6. Gaten Matarazzo
It’s easy to assume that 2016’s “Stranger Things” was then-14-year-old Matarazzo’s big break, but in actuality, by then he was already a seasoned show business professional with a résumé that would make many an actor jealous. Matarazzo made his Broadway debut in 2011 as a Benji replacement in “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” and later went on to play Gavroche in the 2014 revival of “Les Misérables.” But Matarazzo wasn’t the only “Stranger Things” kid to get their start on Broadway: Sadie Sink was a cast member in the 2012 revival of “Annie,” and Caleb McLaughlin played Young Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King” between 2012 and 2014. In fact, the trio were even on Broadway at the same time and used to hang out at something they affectionately called the “Broadway Park.”
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7. Jerry Orbach
Ask your dad about Orbach and he’ll say he’s that guy from “Law & Order.” And while your dad would be right—Orbach did play Detective Lennie Briscoe for over 12 years—he’s also one of the Great White Way’s biggest success stories. Orbach made his Broadway debut in “Carnival!” in 1961 and went on to be a Tony nominee for “Guys and Dolls” (1965) and “Chicago” (1976) and a Tony winner for “Promises, Promises” (1968). Despite all that, what may be his most famous theatrical role actually came prior to his Broadway debut, as the original El Gallo in Off-Broadway’s “The Fantasticks” in 1960.
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8. Sarah Jessica Parker
The future Carrie Bradshaw made her Broadway debut at age 11 in a 1976 revival of William Archibald’s “The Innocents.” This doesn’t seem to get brought up very often when discussing Parker’s career, probably because it seems to only have run for 12 performances. Her second, more long-lasting Broadway job was playing July in “Annie” in 1978, before taking on the titular role in 1979. But Parker isn’t the only one in her household to get a start on Broadway: Her husband, Matthew Broderick, starred in Broadway’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” in 1983, the same year he appeared in his first film.
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9. Anika Noni Rose
Casual observers of Rose’s career might assume that she got her start as Lorrell in 2006’s “Dreamgirls,” then skyrocketed to stardom as the voice of Princess Tiana in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog”—but they’d be starting at the middle of the story of her ascent, not the beginning. Rose made her Broadway debut in 2000 in “Footloose,” as a replacement for Rusty. In 2003, she joined the Off-Broadway production of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s “Caroline, or Change,” playing Caroline’s strong-willed teenage daughter, Emmie. One year later, the production moved to Broadway, and Rose won the Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical.
10. Barbra Streisand
You don’t need us to tell you that Streisand’s career is legendary (she’s the only woman to have an album on the Billboard Top 20 every decade since the 1960s), but you might need us to tell you that she got her start on Broadway. In 1962, Streisand had been singing in nightclubs when she was cast in “I Can Get It for You Wholesale,” which eventually earned her a Tony nomination. Though the team initially pictured her character, secretary Miss Marmelstein, as a middle-aged woman, they were charmed by 19-year-old Streisand’s voice and larger-than-life personality. Streisand would go on to win multiple Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar awards, as well as an honorary “Star of the Decade” Tony Award in 1970.
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