Interview: Hear Jennifer Malenke & the BROADWAY BABYSITTERS at The Green Room 42

The Green Room 42 will present a special afternoon this Saturday at 1 pm with Broadway Babysitters. Broadway Babysitters, an arts-focused childcare company led by an ensemble of expert childcare professionals, will show off their talents in this new concert. You may have seen them at the playground or even in your own living room, but never quite like this! The show features songs from The Sound of Music, Sweeney Todd, High School Musical, and more.

Broadway Babysitters offers personally vetted and individually trained playmakers bring the stage to your living room, drawing on their skills to help kids meet the world with wonder and cast themselves in any role they imagine. By encouraging creative play, providing behind-the-scenes support, and sharing the spotlight with caregiver-focused nonprofits, we connect families to the arts and empower artists to build families of their own.

At this show, the Broadway Babysitters will be taking the stage singing, dancing, and sharing stories from childhood and working in childcare. The show is produced and directed by Jackson Bradshaw and features performances by Jennifer Malenke, owner of Broadway Babysitters, Kirsten Freimann, Barry Gold, Jillian Mitchell, Laura Jeanne Portera, and Jameson White.

Jennifer Malenke (performer and owner of Broadway Babysitters) most recently was seen in the feature film The Father Who Stayed, currently in festivals. She sang alongside many Broadway stars on Aaron Lazar's new album The Impossible Dream, which he's recording to fight ALS. She was in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory First National Tour, and was also in Into the Woods on Broadway. She is a proud member of the Broadway Inspirational Voices, and she has performed with them at the White House, the Met Gala, Carnegie Hall and more. Jen has done theater, concerts, and gigs all over the country, has worked with some of Broadway and TV's biggest names. She was a session singer on many films and TV shows in Los Angeles, and she has appeared on "The Voice," "High School Musical: Get in the Picture," and "The Power of Music" with Josh Groban, now available on YouTube.

We spoke about the upcoming concert, and the future of Broadway Babysitters.

What made you decide to start Broadway Babysitters?

I started Broadway Babysitters when I moved back to New York from LA, and I needed a flexible job, my friend Jenna put me on a text chain with lots of parents and artists who babysat for them, and I thought....oh. Oh. Trust is the basis for this. So I put together a trusted, referral only, vetted network of sitters that are able to leave for contracts and come back when they're done, where they can be a member of the family, and also give artistic lessons on the side for a small extra fee while they're there. They can leave for a contract and come back and have work without starting over at a new job every time; we have a sub system where another amazing, trusted sitter can jump in if the original sitter can't make it for some reason, so parents are never without care. We also train them to care for neurodivergent kids; that's very important to us. Artists have the ability and tools to communicate and connect with that community. Broadway Babysitters is for all families, but another very important thing to me is giving discounts to artists with kids, because I don't think it's fair to have to choose between having a family or a career in the arts. We have also been partnering with PAAL (https://www.paaltheatre.com/) and have provided free childcare matinees for over 20 shows this year, Broadway and off-Broadway, and to try to get childcare to be part of the narrative for theaters when hiring actors with kids. And, maybe our sitters can inspire some of the kids they sit for to let their artistic sides shine, because we always need more artists in this world. We have grown into something I could not even imagine when we started. I am so proud of my team, my COO, Leanne Gadow, my social media team, Bligh Voth and Hannah McGrath, my Admins, Capri Courtney and Beth Eggleston, and all of our wonderful sitters.

What has the most rewarding part of running the business been so far?

The most rewarding part for me is hearing from sitters and parents alike that the sitter's become part of their families. They become another trusted adult to look up to, and that these jobs are sustainable and flexible for people to support their artistic careers. I love hearing how we help people, how our in-person team is there for people when they need help, and how valuable we've become to the theatre community and non-theatre community alike. Plus, it's FUN! It's KIDS! We're all kids at heart in the theatre community, aren't we? We play for a living!

What are you looking forward to about this concert?

I can't wait for families to see their babysitters shine! Another part of this company is the knowing people part. You never know when someone's headshot will come across someone else's desk, and they'll be like, wait, we love them!! They sit for our kids! I want to make this a series so our sitters are not just known for their caregiving, but for their talent as well, [to] help them get seen! Also, we provide free onsite childcare during the show. Win-win!

What have you been listening to lately?

Hmm! Well, I've been listening to New Broadway Spotify channels, because I'm trying to keep up with the times! I'm also listening to Daisy Eagan's podcast Strange and Unexplained. I love it so much – she's hilarious.

Do you have any other shows or projects coming up in the next few months?

Yes! I am in the Broadway Inspirational Voices. We are celebrating our 30th year coming up, and we have a kickoff concert in early September. I moved up to Beacon during the pandemic; the arts community is just thriving there. Will Reynolds and I have started this thing called Broadway in Beacon, a piano bar ala The Duplex that has taken off like crazy. People are thirsty for Broadway up there! So now we have special guest stars who want a free getaway coming up from the city and performing, plus we have all of the Broadway talent that lives up there now, it's taken on a life of its own. To learn visit www.broadwayinbeacon.com, or follow us on Instagram (@broadwayinbeacon). Come up and sing, it's a blast!

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

We'd really love to have this cabaret be the start of a series, possibly having sitters duet with the parents they sit for in the future, and hopefully enhancing and supporting their artistic careers even more fully. We now have a BB branch in Chicago that we are nurturing and growing, so we are trying to expand the Broadway Babysitters community even further!

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Broadway Babysitters will be performed on Saturday, July 27 at 1 pm at The Green Room 42 (570 Tenth Avenue at 42nd Street, on the 4th Floor of Yotel). Tickets start at $20. For tickets, please visit www.TheGreenRoom42.com.

Learn more about Broadway Babysitters at www.broadwaybabysitters.com. Follow Jennifer on Instagram @jjmalenke

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