Caissie Levy
In the 20 years that Caissie Levy has been working on Broadway, she’s starred in mega hits like Wicked (playing Elphaba) and Frozen, originating the role of Elsa. There was also Hairspray, Hair, Les Misérables, Caroline or Change, Leopoldstadt, as well as Next to Normal on the West End in London (where she was Olivier nominated for Best Actress). Bare Mag caught up with her backstage at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater where she’s currently starring as Mother in the acclaimed Broadway musical revival of Ragtime. (The show has been extended through June 14, 2026, and the cast recording is now available for streaming and download.) Caissie had fun glamming it up for the shoot, wearing some favorite personal pieces, like her mom’s vintage 80s suede wraparound top. Writer Gina Way talked to her about pre-show rituals, beauty essentials, Joni Mitchell, the photos in her dressing room that inspire her, and how being a real-life mom influences her performance.
Gina Way: This revival of Ragtime is so stirring and exciting to watch. Do you get a thrill performing it 8 times a week?
Caissie Levy: This is a show that I grew up idolizing. I saw it for the first time when I was a teenager because I grew up just outside of Toronto and that’s where they did the out-of-towns before bringing it to Broadway. When I’m about to enter for a scene in Ragtime, I sometimes think, “I can’t believe I’m playing this part in this show at this moment in time. How lucky are we?” We say that to each other in the wings sometimes because this show is one of those shows that means so much to so many people. Even now, 20 years into my Broadway career, when the lights go down and the orchestra starts, I think it’s just magic. There’s just nothing else like it.
GW: How has being a mom in real life influenced your performance in Ragtime?
CL: Being a mom in real life has changed everything as far as how I approach my work as an actor, how I approach my life as an 8 show a week mom, and what I innately bring to any part I’m playing. Once I became a mother, everything deepened so much. Playing Mother in Ragtime, who parents everyone around her and mothers herself as well, I’m peeling back those layers every single show. I have a 9 year old son in real life, so I feel a deep connection and protective relationship to Little Boy, my son in the show. Often, in my day-to-day life, I say to myself, “I’ve got to parent myself through this moment that feels crazy or overwhelming.” I try to remember when I’m lost with something that I’m somebody’s mom, so what would I tell my kid, and then I try to tell that to myself. I don’t think that ever would have occurred to me prior to becoming a mom in real life.
GW: In the Playbill, you dedicate your performance to your mother. What was one of the lessons she’s taught you?
CL: She’s the most incredible woman I know. I feel like she’s always dropping nuggets of wisdom my way, even when she doesn’t think she’s doing it, just by her existence, just by the way she moves through the world. I’ve learned so much from her. My mom is somebody who is incredibly intelligent and incredibly tough, and when it comes to people she loves, she will do and give everything for them, and she really is a huge inspiration for how I play this part. She often tells me, “Remember, every day has the same 24 hours and time is going to tick on by and all you need to do is exhale and move through it.” I love that advice, and I try to give that to my kids, and in those moments when I’m parenting myself, I hear her voice saying those words to me.
GW: Your two children came to see the show – what were their notes?
CL: They were just rapt the entire time. My husband brought them, and my husband is a gem, the absolute best partner – I literally could not function 8 shows a week as an actor on Broadway at this level without David’s partnership and his partnership in parenting. The minute the cast rises from that huge elevator on stage, I could see them, and they were leaning forward grinning, cheering, they were just in love with the show. At the end, my son just wanted to meet Coalhouse and he just beamed when he met Joshua (Henry).
GW: How do you prepare backstage?
CL: I have a humidifier because it’s so dry backstage and there’s no windows in our dressing rooms. We have air purifiers, humidifiers, I have a vocal steamer that I’m using every time I’m off stage to keep my vocal cords hydrated. Lots of water, lots of tea, I’ve got physical therapy, massage once a week to keep my body loose so I can hit the high notes freely. I’ve got a heating pad for when my muscles are sore, I’ve got healthy snacks like pineapple, which is good for the voice and for decreasing inflammation. Also, my dresser Fran Curry, who is a legendary dresser in our business, is my secret weapon. She’s there to help me get through every show, not just doing the costumes but helping me as a human with my voice and my body. I do a physical warmup: nothing too crazy, but I stretch, I do some yoga poses, I make sure that my neck is moving, my hips are moving, and I’m connected to my legs and my feet because so much of my vocal power comes from the lower half of my body. The period costumes are restrictive, so you want to make sure that your body is warm and ready to go before you put them on.
GW: And how do you save your voice during an 8-show week?
CL: It’s just a wish and prayer, babe. I do have very good habits, but I don’t have the luxury of silence or 8 hours of sleep the way that I did before kids. I rely on really good technique, and check-ins with my voice teacher, and I have an ENT who I love to keep my voice healthy. So, I have a team of people around me that I can call on. When you’re an actor using your voice all the time, you’re hyper aware of it and so you’re really keyed into your body and you’re able to kind of sense that you need a little bit more rest because you’re fighting off an infection or getting fatigued – so you double down on some of those rituals like the steaming of your voice and drinking tea and being quiet when you can.
GW: How do you warm up your voice before a show?
CL: I do a vocal warmup with my voice teacher that’s recorded on my Voice Memos app, but I also mix that in with singing to Joni Mitchell. I have a rotation: Joni, Sara Bareilles, Indigo Girls, John Mayer, and sometimes Bob Dylan if I’m feeling moody but it’s not the best for vocally warming up, but I love him. These are my go-to folks that I warm up my voice to – just by singing something that brings me joy and makes my voice feel good. That puts me in a good spot for this character – and it’s just good vibes.
GW: How do you typically start your day?
CL: Listen, I start the day in chaos, basically. I’m not gonna give you the Goop answer, I’m gonna give you the real-life answer. I’m often not eating for the first time until 12 or 1pm because I’m caffeinating all morning while getting the kids sorted. I’m in survival mode and some days feel easy and the next day I feel like I’m getting whiplash every way I turn, so coffee is my best friend. I try to remember to drink water and to eat a piece of toast or a scrambled egg but often it’s coffee until lunchtime and then I’ll finally eat something.
GW: How do you usually wind down post-show?
CL: I have an hour-long commute home to New Jersey, so that’s my wind-down time. I have someone who drives me, so I don’t have to focus. I just get in the car and close my eyes, sometimes I scroll on my phone, I often watch videos of my kids, and that’s when I allow myself social media so that’s when I’m looking at people’s curtain call videos and reposting them to my Instagram. By the time I get home, I crash and go straight to bed. There’s not a lot of sitting up and hanging out because I’m walking in at close to 1AM after an 8 o’clock show and I gotta be up at 6:30 with my babies so it’s a quick turnaround.
GW: What are a few important items in your dressing room?
CL: I love a calming, peaceful dressing room environment. Having my kids’ artwork on the walls makes me feel like they’re with me. One thing that is so special to me is a photograph of me and Gavin Creel, who was one of my best friends who passed away. We did Hair together and it’s a picture of us as Sheila and Claude and I feel that it sort of blesses my dressing room. I kind of feel that he’s there with me watching over. I also have a picture of my two grandmothers that I look at every day. They are huge parts of my portrayal of Mother. My character (in Ragtime) doesn’t have a name, we just know her as Mother, but to me her name is Ruth after my paternal grandmother because she was so much like this character. She was such a forward-thinking modern woman in a non-modern time, and fiercely protective and generous with her family. I use her as a lot of inspiration. And then I use my Bubby Frieda, my other grandmother, for the lighthearted side with Mother, because she was a riot, loved a good party, and had style for days and that’s a huge part of who Mother is too. I like to have pictures of these people around because they sort of set me off into the show space beautifully and they also ground me.
GW: How do you refuel, rest or treat yourself on a Monday off?
CL: The mornings are so precious when I get to see my family and take the kids to school. My day off is when I take my kids to gymnastics and karate, and we have dinner as a family and that’s just how I want to spend the day. I’m mom-ing pretty hard on a Monday but I do usually get a massage if I have time. Mondays off are a combo of self-care and self-preservation and family time.
GW: How do you juggle family and having two little ones with the tough theater schedule?
CL: I mean, I could talk about this topic forever, because it’s a biggie and it’s also something that isn’t discussed enough in our business. There’s a lot of pressure to make it sound easy to be a parent in this business, and I think there’s got to be room for a more realistic view. It’s a privilege to have my babies and I adore them, and it’s a privilege to be on Broadway 8 shows a week, but it’s also hard, and it takes a toll on my husband who I’ve mentioned is the best in the world. Thank God we have such a great relationship, and we are such equal partners in parenting and managing the household. It takes babysitters, and parents and in-laws who help. It does take a village. It can be the most beautiful, collaborative way to raise kids and have a career in the arts, but it’s never simple and often complicated. It’s never something you do alone.
GW: How would you describe your personal style?
CL: I’m a jeans and t-shirt girl through and through, always have been. I also love to mix vintage pieces in with modern stuff. I’m not a big accessories girl—I rarely wear earrings because I’m usually running out the door. And I love a big purse because I’m always carrying around a bunch of crap that I need to have on me at all times.
GW: What’s your skincare routine like?
CL: I love skincare and I’m always trying out a retinol or a vitamin C cream. I do a double cleanse to take my makeup off after the show, using micellar water on a cotton ball and then Fresh Soy Cleanser, and then I love to load up on whatever serums I’m using that month. I go to sleep with a very glossed up face and hope that I wake up with a dewy complexion.
GW: Makeup must-haves and hair essentials?
CL: I’m rooting through my bag right now because I want to find my favorite products. I have this Erborian CC Crème SPF 25 that I’m obsessed with. I don’t wear foundation every day, but I put this on. I can’t leave the house without my eyelashes being curled and putting on mascara. I just feel like myself with mascara on, and I always use L’Oreal—is that boring? Hey, if it ain’t broke! For my hair, I like to do mini treatments because I’m wearing a wig 8 shows a week, which is a lot of wear and tear on your natural hair. I like to put leave-in conditioner and oils in my hair under my wig. This idea came from my hairstylist who did my hair for this shoot!
GW: Describe your favorite fragrance (and it doesn’t have to be a perfume).
CL: Something that feels like you’re in the woods but you’re in a luxurious cabin, so you’re not actually in nature but you’re in nature-adjacent in a bougie cabin with a fireplace and amazing blankets and linens and cozy couch and good slippers. Give me a little pine, a little patchouli, a little hippie-dippy but still fresh and clean. Take me there please.
GW: What are your Bare Essentials?
CL:
Hugs and kisses from my babies
Swimming in any body of water – ocean, lake, pool, whatever
Sunshine on my skin – I’m a sun girl
Good music
Cheese
photos: tina turnbow
interview: gina way
hair: kim gueldner for voel hair studio
makeup: tina turnbow
caissie wears her own clothing
shot at lincoln center theater nyc