Sara Chase
Sara Chase is a newly minted first-time Tony nominee, starring in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Schmigadoon! on Broadway. Adapted from the hit Apple TV+ series, the show is both a hilarious spoof and a full-on love letter to Golden Age Broadway musicals. (It’s just been extended through January 2027.) Sara, who you might also know from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix, is clearly embracing this exciting moment, which is a sweet stage comeback after successfully completing treatment for fallopian tube cancer. (She lists “cancer survivor” in her Playbill bio in a long list of credits and achievements.) We caught up with Sara in between shows for a fun BARE photo shoot near the Nederlander Theatre and writer Gina Way asked her about how she spends her Mondays off, her favorite movie musical ever, and the five Bare Essentials she can’t live without.
Gina Way: If you could live inside any movie or stage musical, Schmigadoon!-style, what would it be?
Sara Chase: I would (and have tried) to live inside The Sound of Music film. I went to Salzburg, Austria and took the bike tour to all of the filming locations. I even bought a dirndl dress.
GW: What first sparked your interest in musical theatre and comedy?
SC: My father let me watch the film Amadeus with him when I was 6 and hearing the music of Mozart for the first time and seeing Christine Ebersole play an opera star was my first exposure to music and theatre. I became obsessed with the soundtrack and that was my entry into performing for sure.
GW: As a cancer survivor, what do you want women to know about being proactive about their health?
SC: Be aware of your family's history. If you can get tested and screened, prevention is key! I know it is scary but there is support and sisterhood out there.
GW: In what ways has Schmigadoon! been a healing experience for you?
SC: To (badly) paraphrase the book The Body Keeps the Score, I think Schmigadoon! allows me to have repeated and consistent exposure to safe and positive experiences performing, which I badly needed after performing the last time on Broadway under so much stress.
GW: How do you prepare backstage?
SC: I really try to get ready at home as much as possible so I can just be in the wig room and catch up with people before the show starts while I get into wig and microphone.
GW: Does the cast have a pre-show ritual before curtain?
SC: Not really. The closest thing I suppose I have is Alex Brightman will say something obnoxious to me and I will answer back as I walk to my side of the stage.
GW: What are a few special items in your dressing room?
SC: I went maximalist last time with my dressing room, so I wanted to really keep it simple. Other than the basics, there is nothing excessive there except I keep one piece of art a young girl made me to remind myself that I was her once and what I privilege it is to be doing what I get to do.
GW: What’s your favorite way to spend a Monday off? (I hear you’re an amateur birder?)
SC: Ha yes. I am an amateur birder. I would prefer to sleep in as much as I can on Mondays and then be outside. I like to identify all the bird songs and fauna around me if I don't know them already. Sometimes I will visit Madeline Kahn's bench in Central Park, but someone is usually sitting on it. She's got a really prime location on the reservoir as she should!
GW: What’s your beauty routine like?
SC: Retin-A, SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic Serum, and sunscreen on repeat.
GW: How would you describe your personal style?
SC: Whimsy + New England prepster.
GW: Who was your first celebrity crush?
SC: Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future!
GW: What have you read, watched, seen, or listened to lately that you loved?
SC: I love Mary Oliver and just finished Blue Iris. I am also obsessed with the author Beatriz Williams who writes historical fiction, but it is usually drawn from all the places I live!
GW: Describe your favorite fragrance (it doesn’t have to be a perfume, but it can be!).
SC: I love the smell of gardenias, lily of the valley, and any moon garden/night blooming plants!
GW: What are your Bare Essentials? (5 things you can’t live without right now, or ever.)
SC:
Electrolytes
Protein drinks
Reruns of The Golden Girls
Group chats
Hormone replacement therapy
