Last Friday, Woodbine Productions kicked off the beginning of their 2025-26 season with Heather Headley performing in the Larson Memorial Concert Hall at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center.
Broadway and television actress Heather Headley is known for her role of Nala in the Broadway musical ‘The Lion King.’ The Tony and Grammy award winning actress took center stage with a musical set. The SDSU Concert Choir, Choralia and The Statesmen joined her at the end of the concert for three songs.
Headley and the choirs sang ‘Make Them Hear You’ from the musical, Ragtime, ‘Amazing Grace’ by John Newton and ‘Your Song’ by Elton John.
During the performance, Headley sang many songs, ranging from musicals to movies. She cracked jokes with the audience and told small stories from her life between songs, too.
Junior music education major Steiger Manson got the chance to sing a duet during ‘Amazing Grace’ with Headley.
“I was very nervous, but it was a lot of fun,” Manson said. “She made it a very light, fun and easy to work with environment. Heather is such a good communicator. I feel like I could settle and feed from her energy while singing.”
Other students in the choir also said they had an amazing time singing with her.
“It was a cool experience because I feel like Broadway is so unattainable since we are in South Dakota,” said Isabel Blom, a junior theatre major. “She came from a different world and still made it to Broadway, so it makes me feel like I can make it to Broadway. It was cool to share that experience with her.”
Headley was originally born in Trinidad, but moved in the early ‘90s to the United States with her family.
After she graduated high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, she attended Northwestern University to study musical theatre. She decided to leave school to be a part of the musical, Ragtime, and the rest is history.
Before the concert, the choirs rehearsed with Headley. She talked to them about how she wanted the song to sound and took her time with them.
“It was amazing, I loved being able to watch her and being able to feed off her and the choir’s energy. She had such kind words for us,” said Grace Fromknecht, a sophomore music education major.
Afterwards, students got the chance to talk to Headley in a Q&A.
Headley talked about the difference between Broadway and TV.
“I like both for many reasons,” Headley said. “(With) Broadway, you get many chances to change things about your performance, so every night can be a little better and different. But TV, you don’t get that. It is easier to push through when sick though.”
One student asked Headley the best advice she’s gotten as a performer.
Headley responded back, “When someone says ‘You can’t do that,’ it pushes me to do more and work to prove them wrong.”
Headley’s performance with both students and the public was outstanding. When talking to the students in the choir during her Q&A, making sure to give them as much advice and wise words as she could.
“Success of communication is not how you speak, it’s how you understand,” is something to seem to resonate with students.
