June is a busy—albeit joyful—month for MiMi Scardulla. By night, she’s turning heads as Kit Kat Club dancer Texas in Broadway’s hit revival of Cabaret. On June 22, she’ll bring that same fierce authenticity to the stage of Broadway Bares, the annual burlesque spectacular benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. And to top it all off, she’s celebrating her first Pride as a married woman, alongside her wife, Skylar Soehner.
Scardulla’s Broadway journey has been defined by grit, glamour, and unapologetic pride. She made her debut in Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls, slayed in the ensemble of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, and continues to win hearts with her dynamic stage presence, comedic bite and boundary-pushing spirit. Whether commanding the Kit Kat Club or (almost) baring it all at Broadway Bares, Scardulla is celebrating the full spectrum of Broadway beauty—and empowering others to do the same.
You’re performing in both Cabaret and Broadway Bares this Pride month. What does it mean to you to bring your authentic self to these roles during Pride?
MiMi Scardulla: It’s just… existence. It means so much to be in Cabaret every night and be representation people don’t have. And Bares makes me feel the same way. In times of hardship, in what we’re going through as a country, we tend to cling to the most stereotypical ideas of beauty. But during Pride month, it’s about being proud of who you are and how you feel and who you love.
Being on stage at Broadway Bares and at Cabaret is standing in that pride. Like, this is who I am. I'm MiMi Scardulla. I'm 250 pounds of pure glitter and awesomeness and love, and I love who I love and how I love them. And it is just true pride.
As a bigger girl myself, when I saw Cabaret, I experienced just that. A woman who looks like me, who is unapologetically beautiful and sexy and doing her thing. It was so affirming.
I have this moment at the stage door with these amazing, mostly women, who are like: “I wish I could have seen you when I was in high school. I would not have given up.” And even when I was in A Beautiful Noise, those comments still ring over and over again in my head. Because I don’t want anyone ever giving up on their dreams because of how they look, ever again. And I’m not saying it’s not hard work—it is hard work, but it’s worth it. I want people to open their minds.
You’re no stranger to the Broadway Bares stage. How has your relationship to the show evolved over the years, and what keeps you coming back?
It’ll be my sixth Bares this year, which feels wild. I’ll never forget my first Broadway Bares—which I had no intention of doing. I was talking to my good friend Gina, and she asked if I was doing Broadway Bares, and I said, “I don’t know babe. No one wants to see this Broadway bare.” And then I went to [Broadway Bares executive producer] Nick Kenkel’s class at Broadway Dance Center. We’re dancing, and he goes, “You, what’s your name? Talk to me after class. You’re not in trouble.”
He asked, “Do you know about this thing called Broadway Bares? I need you to fill out an application by 3 PM tomorrow. We have a number that would be great for you.” And that ended up being [choreographer] John Alix’s Barbie-themed number in Broadway Bares: On Demand.
It was my first year living in the city. I graduated early and moved to the city with none of my classmates. Broadway Bares gave me community. I’m still close friends with everyone I met that year. It was an acceptance of self, that I could exist in this performing space and have this community.
I think it’s so funny how performers are still, to this day, unsure about Broadway Bares. I hear people not want to get in the mental space of getting ripped for the show. But it’s funny to me, because the moment you walk through those doors on Bares weekend, no one is talking about how their body looks. It’s about fun. It’s about community. It’s about how many dollars we can raise to help provide healthy meals and doctor visits for people facing tough times right now. No one is talking about their abs, and everyone is talking about the fundraising.
For me, my relationship has evolved in the way I belong to the community. I love this community, and I want everyone to be in this community. It’s one of the most special weekends of the year—all of us celebrating one another and doing good.
What helps you feel most powerful and proud when you're performing, especially in shows as emotionally and physically exposed as Cabaret and Bares?
When I was growing up, I never thought I was beautiful. I was alone most of my life. I didn’t date a lot, so it was hard to convince myself that I was beautiful. But when I was in dance class, and I looked at myself dancing in the mirror for those 14 eight counts, I believed I was beautiful because I had physical proof. So as I’ve grown up, I obviously believe I’m beautiful, but when I’m dancing in Cabaret it’s so celebratory of my body. I get to bring every piece of myself to Cabaret, and it affirms me and makes me feel powerful.
And it’s about that connection to the audience, when I look up and someone is looking straight at me. We are connected and celebrating each other and we are growing and we are vibing. And Broadway Bares, it’s all a conversation with the audience. I’m like, “yeah, you’re watching my big booty dance on Broadway, and that’s really cool.”
What does Pride look like for you this year?
Pride looks busy. I am still in Cabaret. I’m doing Broadway Bares, and I’m doing a workshop of a new musical. So Pride looks like gay people getting their money!
It looks like meeting new communities and celebrating current communities. At Cabaret, we joke that we’re the most queer show on Broadway right now. So I think every day at the Kit Kat Club is Pride, and definitely every day at Bares is Pride. So, it’s going to be super busy—but the last weekend of June is my first weekend off, and I hope that my wife and I have the most fun Pride celebrations.
Broadway Bares has always been about celebration, liberation, and community. As a veteran of the show, what do you think makes it such a special experience for both performers and audiences?
What makes it so special for audiences is that the directors have been so brilliant about showing everyone’s beauty on stage. You’ll ride the subway to the show, and then you will see everyone you saw on the subway depicted on that stage. Every race, every color, every body size, everyone will be up there because everyone is beautiful.
And as a performer, when we’re doing eight shows a week, we don’t often get a sense of the impact we make. But in Broadway Bares, from the minute you start your first rehearsal to the last minute of the show, you’re feeling the impact you’re making. You are seeing the dollars go up. You’re not just going to rehearsal and kicking your leg. It’s about doing good.
Plus, is it not every child’s dream to go and get your makeup done to high heaven and to dance in this giant Hammerstein Ballroom filled to the brim with people and be celebrated? The most incredible way to be an artist is to perform in Broadway Bares. It is freeing, it's exciting, it is daring and brave to put your body out there in that way. And that feeling of being able to do that in such a safe environment is so beautiful. So let’s go!
Francesca Toscano is the Senior Content Manager for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Tickets for Broadway Bares start at $75. There are also VIP tickets which offers unlimited specialty cocktails, reserved seating, a backstage tour, and a special ticket includes an invitation to a private cocktail party hosted by Bares founder Jerry Mitchell. Visit BroadwayCares.org/Bares.
See Scardulla become Ruby Red in this promo photo shoot for Broadway Bares: Come Out, Come Out:
MiMi Scardulla
MiMi Scardulla
MiMi Scardulla
MiMi Scardulla
