Artist Spotlight: Meet Heidi Blickenstaff of ‘Come From Away’

Heidi Blickenstaff makes her Muny debut in our premiere production of Come From Away, the hit musical based on real stories from 9/11. A Broadway favorite known for her powerhouse voice, she steps into the role of trailblazing pilot Beverley Bass in this true story of kindness, courage and connection.

Fresh off a critically acclaimed, yearlong run as Mary Jane in the national tour of Jagged Little Pill — a role she also played in the Broadway reopening after the pandemic — Blickenstaff’s Broadway credits also include standout performances in Something Rotten!, The Addams Family, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Full Monty and [title of show].

We caught up with Blickenstaff after a day of Come From Away rehearsal to hear how it feels to check The Muny off her theatrical bucket list.

Q • How does it feel to finally be working at The Muny?

A • Oh, so excited. I’m finally completing my set. I’ve worked at Goodspeed, Paper Mill, La Jolla, The Old Globe, and the only one I had left was The Muny. I’m finally here, and I’m so, so thrilled!

Q • What do you love about the process so far?

A • The people, the people, the people. This is an incredibly unusual place. Everybody talks about the Muny magic, and it is absolutely so true. My only responsibility — and it’s a large one — is to know my show, but everybody around me is swirling around in their own magnificence, taking care of every little detail. I feel incredibly well taken care of, and it’s just an extraordinary group of people, not to mention the amazing people in my cast that I’ve wanted to work with forever and ever, or some of whom I have worked with forever ago.

Q • Has anything surprised you about being here?

A • I’m about to be knocked out right this second, because this is the very first moment that I am seeing this theatre — this incredible house, and it’s 11,000 seats! I mean, it is absolutely extraordinary, and I don’t think I’ve ever performed for a crowd this large. I’m really, really excited. It’s very different from playing an intimate 1,000-seat house on Broadway, and I’m gonna have to kind of learn as I go. I’m really, really excited to dive in.

Q • Actors often say it’s surprising because before the sun goes down, you can see the audience members’ faces.

A • Yeah, totally. I actually love to see people’s faces, because for me, one of the beautiful things about theatre is that it’s happening in the moment. It’s not like watching a movie that you can watch over and over again. It only lives once, and so seeing their faces, I love that, because it feels like something is happening right in that second.

Q • What do you love about playing Beverley in “Come From Away”?

A • She’s just this feminist icon. Before Come From Away, I hadn’t heard about the mountains she had climbed for us. And now with this musical, she has been lauded and given all of her flowers, as she so well deserves. I’m really thrilled to be playing such a strong female character who is going to be forever indelible in this musical, and giving girls something to look up to for as long as this musical goes on and on and on. And she’s alive, too — she’s a real person. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a real person before who is still walking and talking in the world and continuing to make an impact, so I’m very honored to be playing her.

Q • Do you have a favorite moment or song from the show?

A • Well, it has to be “Me and the Sky.” That song is riveting. It’s also one of the hardest songs that I’ve ever had to memorize. You don’t really get a chance to catch your breath or swallow — frankly, literally — and I have to stay super calm, and I think about Bev. I’ve been researching her a lot and looking at a lot of her interviews, and she is this very peaceful, zen person. I’ve never met her in real life, but her outward persona is a woman who is very much in control, and I’m trying to imbue my performance with a certain calm authority I see her inhabit. It’s such a beautiful song to sing, and to be singing it outside at The Muny — “Me and the Sky,” right here at The Muny — is just gonna be kind of dreamy.

Q • What do you hope audiences take away from this show?

A • It is such a beautiful show about strangers caring about strangers and community — a community coming together and taking care of people in need. And I’m hopeful that not only will they take away just the story itself, which is sort of extraordinary — on a horrible day, a beautiful thing happened. Also, in these times that we live in, maybe we could all stand to be kinder to each other and help a stranger and give people the benefit of the doubt and think the best of people instead of the worst and spread a little kindness.

Q • How do you like to prepare yourself before showtime?

A • I do the typical stretching. I usually get to the theatre at least an hour early, because it takes me a minute to settle. I kind of live on a high-energy frequency, and to play somebody like Bev, I’m really gonna need to get into the zone. I’m not a superstitious girl, but I do go over my lines, especially with a show like this, where it’s so narrative. We’re explaining what happened, and you never leave the stage.

This process is so wildly fast that I wonder if my heart will ever stop racing until I’m on my plane back home to New York. It’s been such a blessing and such a dream to finally get to be here.