The bright lights hit her face, the music swells, and for a moment, everything else fades away. The stage manager counts her down… three…two…one… The historic curtain draws open as her thumping heartbeat nearly drowns out the audience. Everything she had been working her entire life for was finally here.
“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” belts 1995 grad Emily Rozek. At that very moment, her nerves disappeared. She was no longer Emily, the fourth child of five. She was Glinda, the star of one of the most famous Broadway shows of all time, Wicked. With all eyes on her, memories of some of Rozek’s earliest performances flood back - the ones she put on at the age of five in the living room for some of her harshest critics - her family. Proudly donning a makeshift Mary Poppins hat crafted by her mother, Emily knew from an early age that theater was her passion.
“I can’t remember a time in my life that wasn’t filled with music and singing. My whole family sang, so I was born into a household of music. I would dance and sing around the living room. I guess it has just always been a part of me,” said Rozek.
That love for performing would continue throughout her academic career. There weren’t many times Rozek wasn’t dancing or singing – even starring as Winnifred in the high school production of Once Upon a Mattress. When it was time to take that next step following graduation, she didn’t have to look far. Rozek attended The Boston Conservatory and received a four-year degree in Musical Theater. During her senior year, a highly attended Showcase in the city lead to the booking of her first agent – one she’s still signed with to this day.
“I booked my first Broadway Show shortly after graduating and moving to the city. I was fortunate to work pretty consistently, although I’m sure the few months here and there between shows felt like an eternity and I’m also quite sure I felt like I would never work again. That doomsday thinking is inherent in most performers, said Rozek.
Rozek made her Broadway debut as Winnie Tate in Annie Get your Gun starring Bernadette Peters. She’d also perform the lead roles of Millie Dillmount and Miss Dorothy in Broadway’s Thoroughly Moden Millie. Perhaps her biggest role – staring as Glinda during the first national tour of Wicked in Los Angeles.
“Playing the role was beyond amazing. Truly the most fun role of all I have played. That show was part of my life for so many years and saw me through the most beautiful and painful parts of my life. I got married, had babies, experienced losses,” said Rozek. She continued, “My father, Ken Rozek was packed and ready to come see me in the show in Boston the following day when he suddenly passed away. I was given the news at intermission. All of that to say, Wicked is more than just a show to me. It gave me my closest friends and a community that supports one another through the best and worst of times. It was such an incredible gift,” said Rozek.
Today, Rozek is sharing that gift with the next generation of performers. For more than a decade, this theater star has worked with hundreds of children across Newark, NJ as a performing arts teacher at one of the top charter schools in the world, North Star Academy.
She has also directed and choreographed multiple productions for Gaslamp Players Theatre in Glen Ridge, NJ. Her business, Rozek Studios, is where she now plays the role of coach, helping students of all ages learn to sing, dance and act.
“For me it goes beyond those skills, though. My objective is to build their confidence so they feel empowered to allow their gifts to be shared and their voices heard in any vocation,” said Rozek.
Working with students on a daily basis, Rozek can’t help but think back to her time at Maine-Endwell. She remembers fall football games, building floats for homecoming, and running through the streets of Endwell during Halloween.
“No place does fall like Upstate, NY!” said Rozek.
Her advice for current students, especially those looking to pursue a career in the arts, is the same one she received more than 30 years ago when she crossed the stage as a Spartan grad.
“If it is your passion and you truly cannot see yourself doing anything else, then go for it! However, it is not always easy, and rejection is part of the business for all of us. The business is even more saturated now than it was 20 years ago, so the competition is fierce. That’s not to discourage, but to arm you with the reality of what you are getting into. You will be surrounded by incredibly talented people and if that is inspiring and pushes you to work harder, then you will do well. If that discourages you, maybe see if there is another career that incorporates your gifts that you would love just as much and do theatre in your community which is also fun and amazing,” said Rozek.
For Emily Rozek, the dream that began in her living room led all the way to the Broadway stage, and those bright lights that, even after all these years, still feel like magic.
For more on Emily’s career, click here.
Her full interview can be found here.
You can catch Emily this weekend as she performs in S.R.O Productions of God Help The Outcasts, A Celebration of Broadway's Misfits and Underdogs.
The fundraising evening is a benefit for the historic J. Ralph Ingalls School and SRO Productions III. See the flyer below for details.
