Actress Keke Palmer is over the moon as she makes history by becoming the first African-American to play the role of Cinderella on Broadway, in “Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” She takes the stage on September 9, a prospect that caused her to tweet on August 4, “I’m sooooo excited to be doing broadway for the first time, as Cinderella!! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!”
Palmer is excited to explore the nuances of theater, especially since her parents were both professional actors who raised her on acting. “Theater offers so much more than I haven’t been able to access doing film and TV and everything like that. I’m very excited to learn all that it has to offer—that focus and that dedication to perform at a certain level every night,” she said.
Palmer is a veteran of TV and film, playing the title role in the 2006 film Akeelah And The Bee when she was 13 and in Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP in her latter teen years. Throughout her acting career she also pursued a career in singing, releasing several mixtapes and singles over the years, along with “So Uncool” in 2007 and a self-titled EP in 2012. Meanwhile, she starred in films such as Barbershop 2: Back in Business and Joyful Noise, and played the role of Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. Palmer is also the youngest person to be given her own talk show, Just Keke, which airs on BET. She is considered one of the most hardworking young actors today.
Currently, Palmer plays the role of a maid and baby nurse on the critically acclaimed TV series Masters Of Sex. Her character, Coral, is employed by Libby Masters, whose interaction with her shows the odd complexities of the relationship between a black woman and the wealthy white woman for whom she works.
I’m sooooo excited to be doing broadway for the first time, as Cinderella!! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) August 4, 2014
Clap For Her: @KekePalmer is heading to Broadway and about to make history! http://t.co/nvH1ZnG7ce pic.twitter.com/5hDmNl6Zhb
— VibeMagazine (@VibeMagazine) August 5, 2014
Image via kekepalmer, Instagram