To say that Alison Luff has had an action-packed year is a whopper of an understatement. Shortly after giving birth to a baby boy, she went into rehearsals as Mrs. Walker in the Broadway revival of The Who’s Tommy. The production closed early, making space for Luff to replace Betsy Wolfe as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Paired with Drew Gehling as Shakespeare, she serves as both narrator and pal of the title heroine, whose fate the feisty Anne is determined to change.
A veteran of Waitress, Mamma Mia! and Escape to Margaritaville, Luff brings comic zing and a gorgeous voice to her role, performing Céline Dion’s “That’s the Way It Is” and other pop hits with the same level of commitment she brought to “Defying Gravity” on the Wicked tour and “I Dreamed a Dream” on Broadway in Les Miz. Meanwhile, her husband, Matt Magnusson, is making his Broadway debut in the Louis Armstrong musical A Wonderful World, and her Starz TV drama Heels, set in the world of small-town wrestling, is getting a new life on Netflix. As baby Levi cooed in the background, Luff chatted with Broadway.com about her family’s happy, hectic year.
You became a mom and starred in two Broadway musicals in 2024. What has the past year been like?
It’s been wild, but I really feel blessed. I had my son on January 6 and started rehearsals four weeks later for Tommy on Broadway.
Four weeks?
I know, it’s absurd. That being said, I had done a pre-Broadway run in Chicago, so I knew the show. It was the best-case scenario, because I had a supportive director and cast and producers, and the baby was along for the whole ride. He would come to rehearsals with me, or my husband or parents would bring him up every hour-and-a-half to be fed.
And now you and Matt are both on Broadway. How are you juggling two shows and a baby?
We are on two completely different [performance] schedules, which sounds awful, but it works out well for us because we require a lot less childcare. We’re with the baby more than people who work nine-to-five jobs, which has been another silver lining.
What excited you about joining & Juliet?
I was excited to do a comedy after doing dramas back to back to back; I had built a career playing tortured souls. Obviously, getting to sing the score every night is a blast; I love it even more than I imagined I would. Playing opposite Drew Gehling was also a big draw. We were friends outside of work, but we hadn’t done anything together.
The two of you anchor of the whole show.
Yes, and that’s really cool. When I took over for Betsy Wolfe, she told me that this is such a special part for a woman our age because you get to do everything: comedic bits, ingenue bits, an awesome monologue and the 11 o’clock number. But you also get to dance around and act like a fool.
“This is my ninth Broadway show, but you never forget the feeling of making your debut.” –Alison Luff
You’ve done various kinds of jukebox shows—what sets & Juliet apart?
I think & Juliet does the formula perfectly because they really “commit to the bit,” so to speak. The show offers a balance of comedy and heart, and it has really strong characters, which is helpful.
Success on Broadway has become such a crapshoot. Were you surprised that Tommy didn’t run longer?
I was, but at the same time, nothing surprises me in this industry. Maybe it’s just self-preservation, but I never count my chickens. I think the lack of Tony nominations did a number on us, because we were selling well before that. But it was a special show and a special opportunity: We had 16 Broadway debuts in that cast.
(Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Once again, you’re in a cast with lots of young people, including one of the biggest social media stars on the planet [Charli D’Amelio]. What’s that like?
I love it because it reminds me of what it feels like to have a Broadway debut. This is my ninth Broadway show, but you never forget the feeling of making your debut. I still get those butterflies and that excitement.
Can you turn off the Max Martin “earworms” when you leave the theater?
“I’ve Got One Less Problem Without You” is always in my head, but I’d say “Wheels on the Bus” is the one that gets stuck a lot [laughs]. Our son loves music. When I was auditioning for this, anytime I sang “Domino,” he would start dancing like crazy. That’s our anthem now. Changing his diaper is like wrestling an alligator, so singing “Wheels on the Bus” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” helps—the classics.
We’re speaking just before Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is scheduled to make a walk-on appearance in the show.
Everyone is just beside themselves. Apparently, in her college essay, she mentioned that her dream was to become the first Black female Supreme Court justice, and also to be on Broadway. She’s going to deliver the line “Female empowerment—sick!” and sing the line “Guilty roads to an endless love” [from the Backstreet Boys hit “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”]. My husband reminded me that I performed for Ruth Bader Ginsburg in D.C. the year before she passed away, in a play called Nell Gwynn at the Folger Shakespeare Library. I was thinking about how cool that was, and this [cameo] is epic.
“I’m entering a new stage in my life, which I love. I’ve never felt more like myself.“
–Alison Luff
Over the past decade, you’ve toured, understudied, replaced and created roles in musicals. What’s the most challenging assignment you’ve tackled?
Honestly, when I was in rehearsals for this show, I was having strong bouts of imposter syndrome, feeling very emotional. With Tommy, I had the show in my bones already, but with this, I was learning something from scratch for the first time as a mother. Before I was a mom, I would come home and go over everything I had just rehearsed and wake up and go over it again. Now I was juggling and feeling the pressure of wanting to be a leader in a room filled with young people. It all worked out—we got there, and I don’t think anybody knew I felt that way—but this one was a big milestone in showing that I can do this; I can have a balance. We’re so hard on ourselves, especially as women, trying to be the perfect mother, the perfect person in the show—trying to do it all and still be cool and relatable. I’m entering a new stage in my life, which I love. I’ve never felt more like myself.
You are a lovely presence on TV in Heels, and you and your husband have an indie band, Big Sur Bound. What’s the ideal balance for you of stage, screen and singing?
The sweet balance would be to keep doing exactly what I’m doing. I would love it if Netflix gave Heels a season three, but we have to get the viewership up. Theater will always be my first and true love, but I want to do it all.
(Photo: Emilio Madrid)
Backing up for a moment, how did you and Matt meet?
We met doing a show at Pasadena Playhouse called Breaking Through. It was a very kismet experience, because Matthew came in and replaced one of the male leads on the day we started tech rehearsals. We met; a week later, we decided to get married; and a month later, we spiritually eloped. That was nine years ago.
Wait… a week?
I know, it’s absolutely bananas. It sounds better now that we’ve been together for nine years. We can really brag about it.
The two of you have posted beautiful, soulful songs written for your band.
Making music is very therapeutic for us. We actually wrote a song the night we spiritually eloped called “Little Lamb” about our future child, and now we have our own little lamb. We need to find more time to play our music because it’s healthy for us and we love it.
How is Matt enjoying his Broadway debut in A Wonderful World?
Oh my gosh, I am thrilled for him. He’s as cool as a cucumber. He’s a male swing, and he’s gone on for almost everything. He’s right where he belongs, and he’s just booked his second show [the spring musical Just in Time].
You’re officially a Broadway couple.
It’s so exciting that we get to experience this season together. It’s not lost on us, I will tell you that. Our son just started walking, and we’re about to celebrate his first birthday. Every night we say, “Wow, we are living the good old days.” We feel very, very fortunate.
(Photo: Evan Zimmerman)
