The Denver Center for the Performing Arts Blog

‘Chicago’ star Bianca Marroquín to students at Denver’s La Academia: 'It can happen to you’

Bianca Marroquín, star of the national touring production of ‘Chicago,’ visits Denver’s La Academia School, telling inner-city students how she became the first Mexican to land a starring role on Broadway. Filmed on March 18, 2014. Video by David Lenk and John Moore.

By John Moore

Bianca Marroquín was an admittedly sensitive, insecure teenager who would cry at the drop of any finger against any ivory piano key. She also has the distinction of being the first actor born in Mexico ever to land a starring role in a Broadway musical. It’s a story worthy of … Broadway.

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Marroquín, who grew up in Tamaulipas, Mexico, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas, is in Denver through Sunday playing Roxie Hart, the star-driven killer with a heart of cold in the national touring production of “Chicago.” She’s starring opposite Billy Flynn veteran John O’Hurley, who calls Marroquin “the best Roxie I have ever seen.” Next week, she’ll be playing Roxie in Toronto alongside Canadian national figure-skating champion Elvis Stojko before returning to the same Broadway stage where she made history in 2002.

How did she do it? With a fierce dedication to her dance, her training and being true to her desire to perform. Even if that meant disobeying her parents.

“I was fulfilling not only my dream, but a lot of other people’s dreams,” she said of making Broadway history.

The morning after opening in Denver on Tuesday, Marroquín visited La Academia. That’s a small, private, inner-city school for 7th-12th graders who have been underserved in the schools they have previously attended. It promises a safe and structured learning environment for students of all ethnicities, economic backgrounds and sexual orientations.

Marroquín’s message to students, some of whom were moved to tears: “It can happen to you.” How? “It’s up to you.”

I was asked to moderate a conversation between Marroquín and the La Academia students. Here are some excerpts. (And in case you were wondering, the legendary Rita Moreno was born in Puerto Rico.)

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Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, with Ryan Worsing and Michael Cusumano, in the national touring production of “Chicago.” Photo by  Jeremy Daniel.

John Moore: So … you’re the first actor born in Mexico to play a leading role in a Broadway musical. Why do you think you are you the one?

Bianca Marroquín: First of all, I have to say that I am so thrilled to be here. I wish they had this school when I was a kid. I went to a bigger high school, and I was very shy, and very anxious, and I had lots of problems connecting and paying attention and having confidence. The only thing I felt comfortable in was my dancing.  I’ve been dancing since I was 3. Luckily, I always knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I knew that I wanted to be on the stage; that I wanted to tell stories through music or dancing or singing. But dancing always came first for me. If dancing was ever involved with anything in my school, I was always the one who was choreographing. I did well in school because my parents told me, ‘You can keep dancing as long as you pass your classes" I just knew they could never take dancing away from me, so I thought that was a good deal. I found a way to keep (my studies) fun and interesting.

John Moore: So how did that turn into your becoming a Broadway star?

Bianca Marroquín: Life is about how opportunities present themselves. And I believe opportunities will always present themselves to every human being. It’s up to you if you take them. It’s up to you if you are ready and prepared when they come. It’s up to you if you take the risk. It’s up to you if you decide to take the more difficult path.

John Moore: What was it like living a dual life in a way, growing up in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and going to school in Brownsville, Texas?

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Bianca Marroquín: Yes, definitely. I grew up between two worlds. I was born in Monterrey, but when I was a baby, my parents moved to the border. And across the Rio Grande River was Brownsville, Texas. It’s at the most southern tip of Texas. So I would cross the bridge every morning to go to school in Texas. My mother used to say, “You are very privileged kids to be able to go to school over there,” but I didn’t know any different. Later in life, when I graduated from high school, of all the dance disciplines that I took – ballet, jazz, tap – flamenco was my passion. For the rest of my life, I wanted to be a flamenco dancer. I had the school that I wanted to go to all planned out. It was in Madrid. I was going to room with my friend Sharon. But one month before all this was to happen, my father said, “No, no, no! You are going to Monterrey like your brothers and study for a career. After that, you can jump around.” He said that in Spanish. I was like, “What?” He thought I was kidding. But I had to listen to my father. And so I had no choice. I went to the most prestigious college in Mexico, but I was back in the city where I was born. And I was miserable. But again, my father said, “If you pass your classes, you can keep dancing.” One day I was walking on the campus, and I saw this big poster on a tree. It said, “Flamenco auditions,” and my heart just started racing. “What is this?” So I went in, and most of the girls who were auditioning for this company were jazz dancers. The teacher saw that I had been taking flamenco since I was 8, and that it was in my blood, so I became the soloist of the company. I started going to rehearsals behind my parents’ backs. But then we opened, and it made the newspapers the next day. My parents saw me on the front cover, and they got really angry because I disobeyed them. But I said, “We have one more show, please drive up" – it was 3 hours from Monterrey – “and you can ground me afterward.” I had this 14-minute-long solo. When it was over, I stick out my head from the curtain and I can see my father is crying. My father said to me, “OK. You can continue to dance – as long as you pass your classes. That was second semester. In my fifth semester, “Beauty and the Beast” comes to Mexico City from Broadway to open the first Spanish-speaking production. I auditioned, and I got it …

John Moore: Let me guess: You got Belle?

 Bianca Marroquín: No, which is the best thing. I was a little spoon. … A very proud little spoon! They were looking for dancers who could sing. At that point, I wasn’t a trained singer at all.  But I was always very musical. There was always a piano in my house, and I taught myself how to play by ear. That little voice got me my little place in the ensemble.  They only picked one girl from Monterrey and one girl from Guadalajara, and the rest come from the capital. So when I got it, I had to tell my parents, “Guess what? I got this job. It’s in Mexico City. It’s only enough to pay rent. I would love it if you supported me. But even if you don’t, this is my path. I’m have to do this.” I was 20 years old at the time. They flew with me to Mexico City. They had a meeting with the producers. They told my parents, “This is a huge thing for the country. It’s opening a new era of musical theatre. Your daughter was chosen from among thousands. You should be proud.” So they said, “OK.”

John Moore: When you were 12 and you knew you had a passion for dance, did you believe that something like Broadway could happen?

Bianca Marroquín: I have to say that I was always very different from my friends in high school. I was so sensitive. My friends made fun of me because I was always crying about everything. If there was a piano anywhere – they lost me. Anywhere. The mall. A friend’s house. My aunt’s house: Anywhere I saw a piano, it just called me. But I always felt out of place. I was always daydreaming and hearing music and writing poetry and fusing them together and making songs. But I never thought I would make it to Broadway. I didn’t even know what Broadway was. But I always knew that I was going to be on a stage dancing professionally one day, performing and connecting with audiences. On the stage was the place where I felt the most comfortable.  And I couldn’t explain why.

John Moore: But before you can even start thinking about having a career in the real world, you have to get through high school first. If any of these students feel the urge to write or draw or paint or perform, can you talk about how important it is for them to just go and do it?

Bianca Marroquín: First of all, when I was a little girl, my ballet class meant responsibility. That meant commitment. That meant discipline. Even if I wasn’t going to end up doing this, doing it at a young age leaves you with a very strong base. It gives you strong tools to take out into your life. I feel like we are all warriors. Life is about confronting yourself with all of these different obstacles and situations. What your teachers, and this school, are giving you are these amazing tools. Not a lot of people get those opportunities.

 

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John Moore: So when you walked out on that stage in 2002 and made  history as Roxie Hart, were you feeling the weight of the significance of the moment?

 Bianca Marroquín: When Chicago came to Mexico City, it was tricky because the newspaper said they wanted women between 35 and 47 years of age – I was 25 – and preferably famous. Nobody knew who the heck I was. So I went to the audition hoping to get my little place in the ensemble and maybe understudy one of the leads. Never did I dream that I was going to end up getting Roxie at 25 – the youngest Roxie ever, at that point. After six months, I didn’t think it could get any better. I was getting recognition from the critics, and all these awards. And so I was invited to cross over from Mexico to Broadway. I was invited to do a three-week stint (in New York), and here is the script in English – because of course we were doing all of the shows in Mexico in Spanish. At that moment, I went into what I call “responsibility mode.” I took it really seriously. I started studying the script in English during the day and doing the show at night in Spanish until the day came (to leave for the United States). I got to New York, and I only had four days of rehearsal. I was freaked out. It was a big responsibility. I was too serious. Too focused. When opening night came, I remember, I was in the dressing room. They had some press come backstage to do a quick little interview before the show. I think it was Telemundo or Univision. And that reporter, she was the one to tell me, half an hour before I went out onstage for the first time, that I was the first Mexican ever to cross over from Mexico to Broadway with a leading role.

 John Moore: No pressure!

 Bianca Marroquín: No pressure! But I blocked it so I could do my work the way they had taught me. At the very end of the show, there was a huge standing ovation. That didn’t happen in Mexico. The culture was very different there. When I went back to Mexico, I started to realize that it was this big role and responsibility that life gave me. I was fulfilling not only my dream, but a lot of other people’s dreams. Twelve years later, I still take that very seriously.

(At this point we opened up the conversation for comments from students)

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Student: I am sorry for my English but … I feel so close to you. I started modeling, and they gave me a contract, but my mom wouldn’t sign it. I was fighting for my dream like you did, but it went down.  

Bianca Marroquín: For now. Know that it’s just temporary. It’s not the right timing for you.  There’s something else that you need to learn first … and it’s going to taste so much better later on.

John Moore: Your mom may not necessarily want you to model. She may just want you in school for now.

Student: She’s scared for me.

Bianca Marroquín: She wants what’s best for you.

John Moore: But your story is just starting. You don’t know where it is going. You kind of have to be Bianca to already see where your story is going.

Bianca Marroquín: When I arrived in the United States, I was still a minority. My battle has been to open paths for other Hispanic women, so they can have a chance at different roles – great roles, not just stereotypical roles – for Hispanic women. My motto in life is, “I don’t settle.” 

Student: I am going to keep fighting, because today you moved something in me.

Bianca Marroquín: If you told me that I did that for you? That’s my mission. Lots of people along the way told me that I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t have the right body type, or that I wasn’t star quality.

John Moore: Didn’t the Chicago team change Roxie’s look just for you? Because every time I have seen Chicago, Roxie has been the blonde, and Velma has had black hair.

Bianca Marroquín: Yes. They let me be me now.

John Moore: So they didn’t try to change you to fit the role. They let you bring what you bring to the role.

Bianca Marroquín: Yes. Finally. Finally, I have the respect. Finally, I can ask, “Will you let me be me now?” That is very important to me. (To students) And that’s what I think you are getting, also, from your teachers here. They are helping you to find out who you are. What is your mission? What is your goal? What are your dreams? What do you want to become?

Chicago: Information

"Chicago” plays in Denver through March 23. Call 303-893-4100 or go to www.denvercenter.org.

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