Stay Healthy Broadway Style: How Michael Cerveris, Ana Villafañe, David Furr and Cynthia Erivo Avoid Sick Days

People get sick. It's a fact of life. And usually a day or two off from work in order to recover is a perfectly reasonable request for people in most professions.

Obviously, it's a little more complicated on Broadway, where even a mild ailment could seriously affect a performer's ability to do the job and a day off requires the insertion of an understudy and dealing with disappointed fans who may have come to see a particular actor's performance.

Fortunately, for fans of two-time Tony winner Michael Cerveris, that's rarely a problem.

"I haven't missed a show due to sickness since 2004, maybe," FUN HOME's leading man tells the New York Post.

The versatile actor relies on his humidifier, steaming showers and drinking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup of hot water daily.

Growing up in Miami, ON YOUR FEET!'s star Ana Villafañe is experiencing her first cold winter while making her Broadway debut.

"My biggest thing is drinking a lot of water and coconut water," she says.

The woman who plays Gloria Estefan on stage also uses sleep meditation tapes, given to her by Estefan herself. "Usually I pass out halfway through."

When David Furr of NOISES OFF wakes up with a scratchy throat, he goes for a hot tea called Throat Coat, made with slippery elm bark and licorice root. On the advice of co-star Megan Hilty, he's been stirring a spoonful of coconut oil into the tea, for its topical anti-inflammatory properties.

Cynthia Erivo, another Broadway newbie who's knocking 'em dead as Celie in THE COLOR PURPLE, starts every morning with "a shot glass of cider vinegar, lemon and water" to break up any mucus in the chest.

Next comes a nutrient-packed vegetable green juice with ingredients such as cucumber, kale and celery and, for an extra cold-fighting kick, she adds some Echinacea.

"I do it all!"

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Photos: Walter McBride