575 Gather at Illinois State Cultural Dinner for Eva Noblezada
A crowd of 575 filled the Brown Ballroom at the Bone Student Center on Thursday to hear award-winning Broadway actress Eva Noblezada speak at a cultural dinner hosted by University Housing Services, videtteonline.com reported. The event, which featured Mexican and Filipino cuisine reflecting Noblezada’s heritage, sold out after the university doubled its ticket allotment to meet demand.
Noblezada recently starred as Daisy Buchanan in the Broadway production of “The Great Gatsby” and previously returned to her roles as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” and Eurydice in “Hadestown.” She won a Grammy Award for best musical theater album and earned a Tony nomination for “Hadestown”—her second Tony nomination in her first two Broadway roles, following a 2017 nod for the title role in “Miss Saigon,” according to news.illinoisstate.edu.
Noblezada on Representation and the Acting Industry
During a moderated Q&A led by University Housing Services Assistant Director Hillary Campos-Mathena, Noblezada addressed the challenges of working as a woman of color in theater and the lack of Asian-American representation on stage. “If we’re gonna put on a show and we’re gonna reflect the world, there better be some diverse bodies on that stage,” Noblezada said.
She also spoke to aspiring performers about prioritizing their wellbeing. “You must take care of yourself, even more than you have passion for what you do, because your body, your brain, your vessel is literally bringing you through all of it,” she said.
Noblezada described her love for the rehearsal process as a time of experimentation and vulnerability. “It’s just a time of experimenting and also just being really brave, being very vulnerable, trying new things and landing on your face,” she said.
Students Find Inspiration in Her Nontraditional Path
Sophomore math education major AJ Luna, who learned about Noblezada through his girlfriend’s introduction to “Hadestown,” said her comments about ensemble roles resonated with his high school theater experience. “As someone who was in ensemble roles a lot, when she said we need to stop treating leads as gods and ensembles as trash, that really resonated with me a lot,” Luna said.
Junior musical theater major Tyler Schorsch, who recently starred in the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts’ production of “Alice by Heart,” cited Noblezada’s career trajectory as inspiration. Noblezada was discovered at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in 2013, launching a path that bypassed traditional training. “She didn’t have a traditional route into the performance lifestyle,” Schorsch said. “If she can make it in her own way then I can make it in my own way.”
Sophomore history education major Micaela Paulino said the event was empowering as a Latina. “It was just really awesome to see someone of my same heritage be up there and be successful and also be personal,” Paulino said.
Event Details and What Comes Next
Before the dinner, screens displayed tributes to Mexican and Filipino icons. After the Q&A, fans lined up for autographs and photos, with staff working to move the line so everyone could meet the actress. “It’s everything,” Noblezada said of the reception. “That’s really, really cool, and it gives me a lot of hope in humanity.”
The next cultural dinner will be the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Dinner on Jan. 29, with tickets going on sale Dec. 1, according to videtteonline.com.
Noblezada’s Honors in Theater
The event was held Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center at Illinois State University, according to news.illinoisstate.edu and redbirdlife.illinoisstate.edu.
What awards has Noblezada won for her theater work?
She won a Grammy Award for best musical theater album and received Tony nominations for both “Hadestown” and the 2017 revival of “Miss Saigon,” making it two nominations in her first two Broadway roles, according to news.illinoisstate.edu.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Dinner is scheduled for Jan. 29, with tickets available starting Dec. 1.