Interview: Sarah Lynn Marion of KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Segerstrom Center For The Arts

Sarah Lynn Marion is coming back to SoCal. 

The Orange County native, who grew up performing in and around Costa Mesa, is making her Broadway debut as an understudy for the roles of Pattie and Debra in the touring cast of the Tony Award-winning musical KIMBERLY AKIMBO.

The show plays at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts from January 21 through February 2. 

Marion talked with BroadwayWorld about her Broadway debut—and what it’s like to be an understudy.  

Tell us a little about how you got into theater, and where in Orange County did you go to school, practice, and perform? 

In elementary school, I always wanted to play a role or sing a solo in the class plays. Our middle school had choir as an elective, but that wasn’t enough for me. Alongside my school performances, I was heavily involved with ClubHouse Academy, a local children’s theatre at The Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley, and Orange County Children’s Theatre (OCCT). For high school, I went to Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts (APA) where I majored in Musical Theatre and double minored in Dance and Pop Music. I did over 30 various performances in my 4 years at APA, whether it was concerts musicals, or dance recitals. I also participated in several community theatre shows at the Rose Center Theater in Westminster throughout and after high school. I kept myself quite busy. 

Want to give any shoutouts to people or places in the OC for getting you to where you are?  

I’d love to shout out to the public schools and teachers of Orange County. I owe a lot to them for recognizing and nurturing my talent. I was given a lot of performance opportunities at a young age, which allowed me to build my confidence and gain real experience in the performing arts. I am incredibly grateful to have attended APA because I was given the chance to thrive and develop skills that helped me get into college and pursue a BFA in Musical Theatre. 

During my years at APA I was also honored by local awards programs for high school theatre, but two in particular left a lasting impact. The Spirit of the MACY Awards was held annually at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the same theater we will be residing in for our two-week stop in Costa Mesa. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of stepping onto a stage of that size, especially as a high school student. To compare, the Booth Theatre in NYC, where Kimberly Akimbo ran on Broadway, has a capacity of 800, while the Segerstrom has a capacity of 3,000. I feel incredibly lucky to have performed on that stage as a teenager, and it’s all the more special to be coming back, this time part of a national tour.

The John Raitt Awards for Youth (the JRAYs) selected me as their “Best Leading Actress” for the role of Dolly in APA’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” The JRAYs sponsored my participation to compete in, and win, the 2013 National High School Musical Theatre Awards, known as the Jimmy Awards, in NYC. Winning the Jimmys was my introduction to New York City, and the actualization of my dreams to pursue this as a career. It’s because of the JRAYs that I performed on a Broadway stage for the first time at 17 years old, and I couldn’t have won without their support, encouragement, and generosity, along with that of my teachers, friends, and family. 

Did you always want to go into theater? And what drew you to it?  

My parents actually met doing a production of “The Wizard of Oz”. Mom was Dorothy, Dad was the Tinman, so I was born into a very theatrical family. I’m very lucky to have as supportive of a family as I do. I was never once told “no” when I expressed my dreams of being an actor. I was practically raised on cast recordings such as “Pippin” and “West Side Story,” and grew up watching movie musicals like “Singing in the Rain” and “Chicago.” So, it’s not so much that anything drew me to it, it’s more that nothing ever drew me away from it. 

This is your first Broadway tour—how has it been going so far? 

It’s a dream come true. Every week, I wake up in a new city touring the country with a Tony Award-winning musical. We’re now about 5 months into the tour, and other than feeling a little homesick and missing my cats and my fiancé, I really am living the dream. 

A lot of people who aren’t theater people may not understand the work of the understudy. Tell us about what you have to do to prepare for every show. 

This is my first time being an off-stage understudy, meaning I’m not in the show every night, but I am backstage at every show. Preparing for this show started back in New York, being in the rehearsal room, taking extensive notes on blocking, direction, and my own interpretations of the characters’ inner thoughts. I understudy two parts, so it was important for me to keep the two characters very separate from the start. 

Now that the show is officially on the road, we have understudy rehearsal weekly where we run through the show with the entire understudy cast. Since I am the only understudy for Pattie and Debra, I will typically do both parts unless both are on stage at the same time, in which case I will focus on one for the day, and at the next rehearsal, I will switch, and the lines of the character I am not focusing on will be read by our stage manager. That means at each understudy rehearsal, I am singing all solo songs for both characters, but only acting the scenes and singing the group numbers of one. 

Is it stressful knowing you might have to go on stage at any moment?  

It can definitely be stressful, but I’ve been very fortunate to have had a lot of rehearsal time and time to prepare these parts, so I would feel comfortable jumping into the show at any moment. Luckily, all the times I have gone on, I’ve been given several hours' notice, which gives me plenty of time to warm up, get hair and makeup ready, and do a quick refresh of lines and blocking.

I am backstage at every show but not in costume or hair/makeup. Instead, you can usually find me doing some type of activity in the dressing room with my fellow understudies or out in the house watching the show. When one of the understudies goes on, the rest of us usually watch the show in support of one another. When I made my tour debut back in November, the rest of the understudies were in the audience cheering me on. 

On the flip side, is it frustrating when you don’t get called for a while?  

It’s not frustrating. At the end of the day, I knew what being an off-stage understudy entailed. Of course, I want to go on. I love being on stage, but I am so grateful to be a part of this tour. “Kimberly Akimbo” is such a good musical. I saw it on Broadway back in 2023. Since then, I knew I had to be a part of it. When the tour was announced, I told one of my mentors that I would be a fool not to give it my all. When I got the offer, it was the easiest choice I’ve ever made, even if it meant being backstage during the show with just a chance of going on. 

How often do you perform?  

That’s one of the challenges of being an understudy. There’s no set schedule for when or how often we go on. Personally, I’ve performed one of the roles I cover a handful of times, and I have yet to debut the other.  

What is your favorite thing about Kimberly Akimbo?  

Narrowing it down to one thing is really difficult, so I’ll give you two. First, there are not many roles originated by plus size actors in the history of musical theater where the role itself has nothing to do with the way the actor looks. As a young girl in community theater and my performing arts high school, I was typically the tallest and largest in the room at any given moment. I was often cast as boy roles or older women due to the way I look. I didn’t have many role models to look up to who had a similar body shape as I did, let alone peers. When Bonnie Milligan won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Debra in “Kimberly Akimbo,” I cried. It was one of the first times I experienced that kind of representation, and I want to be able to do that for some young plus-size aspiring actors like me. Being an understudy in this show for that role allows me to fulfill that. 

The second thing I love about “Kimberly Akimbo” is that every character in the show reminds me of someone I know. I feel like everyone who watches this musical can see their family, their friends, or themselves on the stage in one way or another. None of the characters are perfect. All of them have quirks and flaws that make them unique. The script is so real and deep, yet funny and weird at the same time. The music is gorgeous and makes you want to laugh or cry at my given moment.  

Tell us about your characters and what you bring to the roles.  

Pattie is Kimberly’s mom, and in her mind, she is Mother of the Year. Or trying to be at least. She was a teen mom, so she herself was still a kid when she had Kim. On top of that, her child has a rare disease that impacts every aspect of her life. To cope, Pattie often makes herself be the center of attention to distract from reality. I am not a mom, but I can empathize with reality being too daunting and distracting myself with something else.  

Debra is Kim’s aunt, but is also a criminal. She absolutely loves Kim, but has her own best interest in mind. I myself am an aunt to nine nieces and nephews, so I easily relate to Debra’s love for Kim, however, I can proudly say I am not a criminal. When I’m Debra I definitely lean into my negative traits, but I let my love for Kimberly drive. Debra is also much more physical in the show so I get to play with body language and gestures as her rather than Pattie. 

If you could be any part in any show, what would it be and why? 

A dream role of mine is the Narrator in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” It’s a role that my mom played when she pursued acting, and she always talked about how vocally challenging the part was and how fulfilling it was as an actor to play. It would be an amazing full-circle moment to be able to play it with her in the audience. As far as I know, there aren’t any revivals in the works, but if anyone is looking for a Narrator, you know where to find me. 

What do you want people to know about the understudies of every show everywhere? 

I remember seeing the touring production of “Wicked,” and in act two, they brought down the curtain and announced another actor would play Elphaba for the remainder of the performance. We later discovered the first actor had gotten sick during the show and had to go home, which is why the standby came on. The show picked back up at the start of “No Good Deed,” a pivotal moment for Elphaba, which the show has been building to. 

At first, I noticed obvious differences between the two actors, like height and eye color, but it only lasted about 10 seconds because she had come onto the stage with as much fire, energy, and passion as she had just done the first hour and a half. That is the magic understudies carry. You have to know a show well enough to be able to drop in at any moment without disrupting the show, regardless of when you’re notified. 

If there wasn’t an understudy, one of two things would have happened. The show would have ended right then and there, and everyone in the theater would have had to go home, or the actor who became sick would have continued the performance instead of being able to go home and rest. Instead, the show went on, thanks to that understudy. 

This is one of the most difficult jobs I have ever had, but it’s also one of the best. Whether on or off stage, understudies ensure that the show will go on. 

Kimberly Akimbo will play at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts from January 21 through February 2.  

*main photo by Bjorn Bolinder Photography

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