Broadway Debuts, College + Overcoming Rejection with Christine Cornish (Cats)

Christine Cornish Smith is a New York City based dancer, singer and actor. She was most recently seen in the Original Broadway Cast revival of Kiss Me, Kate!, where she was a featured dancer in the ensemble and covered Lois Lane/Bianca. Christine is most well known for her portrayal of Bombalurina in the OBC revival of CATS, and was also seen in the OBC of My Fair Lady at the Lincoln Center Theater. 

Other credits include: the original work of Agnes DeMille in Oklahoma! at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, original revival tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat helmed by director/choreographer, Andy Blankenbuehler, Laurey Williams in Susan Stroman’s Oklahoma! at the MUNY, Sheila Bryant in A Chorus Line at the Riverside Theater, and Goodspeed Opera House. She has also performed as a principal vocalist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Phoenix Symphony, and the Niagra Symphony Orchestra, as well as was a finalist in the prestigious Kurt Weill’s Lotte Lenya Vocal Competition in 2014.

She appeared in the 25th Anniversary Concert performance of Crazy For You at Lincoln Center, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and has also appeared on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver, “Good Morning, America”, “The Today Show”, “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”, and “The Tony Awards”. She has been featured on Playbill.com, Broadway.com, Inside Dance Magazine, and BroadwayBox as one of the “Incredible Debuts” of the 2016 Broadway season. Visit her website at www.ChristineCornishSmith.com and follow her on instagram @ChristineCornish.

In this episode, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Christine about her musical theatre training at CCM, her transition to New York City, survival jobs, agents, auditions, rejection, and making her Broadway debut in Cats.