Sherri Shepherd Talks About Playing The First Female Genie In Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway
Sherri Shepherd is stepping into two very different roles that are both deeply meaningful to her making Broadway history as the first woman to play the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin and portraying 9/11 survivor Janelle Guzman McMillan in the upcoming film Angel in the Rubble.
Shepherd shared how excited she is to take on the iconic Genie role, especially because she hopes young girls will see her performance and recognize that their possibilities extend far beyond the traditional princess dream. She joked that instead of little girls arriving at the theater dressed only as princesses, she hopes some will come dressed as the Genie and leave thinking, “I can grant wishes. Maybe I can become president. Maybe I can own a company.” For Shepherd, the role is about encouraging children to dream bigger and think outside the box.
She also credited Broadway legend Stephanie Mills with inspiring her when she watched Mills perform in The Wiz. Now, Shepherd hopes to bring her own humor, sass and personality to the Genie. Her limited Broadway engagement runs October 16 through January 3.
The conversation also touched on Shepherd becoming an empty nester after sending her son, Jeffrey, off to college. With plenty of humor, she described wandering around her home like a ghost and admitted she’s still adjusting to not being able to mother him from a distance. From reminding him to change his sheets and pick up his clothes to repeatedly checking that he has everything he needs, Shepherd joked that her son has resorted to blocking her calls!
But the conversation took a more emotional turn when Shepherd discussed her upcoming Lifetime film, Angel in the Rubble, which premieres September 12.
Shepherd portrays Janelle Guzman McMillan, a Port Authority employee who was at work during the September 11 attacks. Guzman McMillan survived after being buried beneath the rubble for 27 hours. During her ordeal, she recalled an encounter with a firefighter named Paul, whom she believed was an angel sent to help her. After her rescue, however, the mysterious firefighter could never be located.
Guzman McMillan later wrote about her experience, inspiring the story behind Angel in the Rubble. Shepherd said the role was especially powerful because it is ultimately a story of resilience, faith and strength.
The film also reunited Shepherd with actor Dondré Whitfield, who plays her character’s boyfriend. The pair have known each other for years and previously worked together on Less Than Perfect, where Whitfield shared Shepherd’s first television kiss. Shepherd joked that having him play her romantic partner again brought the relationship full circle.
Today, Guzman McMillan is married to the man Whitfield portrays and is a mother of three. Shepherd hopes audiences walk away from the film remembering the extraordinary sense of unity that emerged after 9/11—when strangers embraced one another, communities came together and people from around the world traveled to help.
For Shepherd, that message feels particularly important today: even in the darkest circumstances, resilience, compassion and human connection can help us find our way forward.
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