It’s not so often that you meet a successful person who is still so grounded and generous with her wisdom as Jenn Colella. After spending several years in the shoes of Captain Beverley Bass in Come From Away, Colella is currently playing another figure who took on the glass ceiling, early Suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt in Shaina Taub’s musical Suffs.
At the same time, Colella has added a new role to her book, mom to an 11-week-old baby girl. And if you run into them in the street, give them a smile. You’re guaranteed to get one back.
How do you balance being a new mother of a baby with starring in a new Broadway musical? I mean, that’s hard.
It’s hard because I feel like my heart is in two places. My wife has been the hero in this particular relationship. My daughter is only 11 weeks old, so she’s brand new. Our first rehearsal for Suffs on Broadway was when my daughter was five days old. I’ve been a part of the show for seven years, so my wife was like, go do this thing and I will take care of the baby while we get through opening and all the awards. I have a feeling, come the end of May, she’s gonna be like “here!” [Laughs]
The work that you’re doing right now is going to be important to your daughter one day, too.
I’m so glad you said that because that’s exactly how I feel. The only thing that could take me away from her right now, even for a moment, is to be a part of something like this, celebrating women’s voices, so that when she can speak, she’ll know that I was working to amplify her voice as well...READ MORE