Kenzie Ziegler sets Broadway debut as Charmion in & JULIET

Kenzie Ziegler is scheduled to make her Broadway debut as Charmion in & JULIET at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, beginning a limited engagement on 15 September 2026 and remaining with the production through 1 November. People reported the producer-announced casting on 18 August. The booking takes the 22-year-old performer onto Broadway after work across reality television, recorded music and screen acting.

Ziegler will succeed Halima Dodo, who is scheduled to give her final performance as Charmion on 13 September. The change is a defined handover within the Broadway company. Ziegler’s announced booking applies only to the New York production and has not been announced for any touring or international company.

Broadway.com describes Charmion as a featured dance role, a distinction that keeps the scale of the casting clear. Beyond that description, the announcement does not specify the exact balance of dancing, vocals or dialogue in the track. The confirmed information places dance at the centre of what has been announced about the role.

Recent Broadway performers in the role include dancer and social media personality Charli D’Amelio and Olympic gold medallist Laurie Hernandez. Their backgrounds place the track in a recent line of performers known beyond musical theatre, from social media and television to elite sport. Ziegler’s arrival continues that pattern, although the producers have not linked her casting to a particular sales or demographic strategy.

Ziegler first became widely known through DANCE MOMS, appearing alongside her sister Maddie Ziegler during the reality series’ first six seasons. The programme was the starting point of her public profile, but the Broadway announcement follows later work in recorded music and acting. At 22, she is moving into a new performance setting rather than returning to the television format that introduced her.

Her recorded work includes the 2024 release biting my tongue. Ziegler also appears in SHE DANCES, which People reports premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Festival and features Ethan Hawke and Steve Zahn. Those projects provide recent context for the Broadway move, with her work immediately before the engagement spanning music and film.

Ziegler will not be the only performer joining the production on 15 September. Anthony Gargiula is scheduled to enter the Broadway company as François on the same date and remain through 6 December. His longer engagement makes the two arrivals part of the same autumn company transition, while preserving the separate end dates announced for each performer.

& JULIET reworks the familiar ending of ROMEO AND JULIET by giving Juliet an alternative path forward. Rather than repeating the tragedy’s established outcome, the musical builds a new narrative around what she might do next. That premise provides the framework for a pop catalogue assembled from songs associated with songwriter and producer Max Martin.

The musical has a book by David West Read, direction by Luke Sheppard and choreography by Jennifer Weber. Together, that creative team shapes the alternative story and its use of Martin’s catalogue. The score draws on existing songs associated with his career, placing familiar pop material within the musical’s rewritten account of Juliet’s future.

The production opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 17 November 2022 after its West End run. It subsequently received nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. Ziegler’s arrival therefore comes almost four years into the Broadway engagement, rather than as part of a new production launch or transfer.

Playbill has also reported that & JULIET was the first new musical from the 2022-23 Broadway season to announce that it had recouped its investment. That commercial chronology, together with the Tony nominations and continuing performance schedule, provides important context for a company change taking place well into the production’s Broadway run.

AussieTheatre previously examined the musical’s Broadway performance and commercial context in January 2026 and separately covered its UK and Ireland touring activity in June 2024. The Ziegler announcement is distinct from those reports. It concerns a newly confirmed performer and a fixed engagement in the continuing Broadway company, not an update to either touring production.

Australian audiences may also recognise & JULIET from its local production, which opened at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in February 2023. That season established the title with Australian theatregoers before this latest Broadway casting. Ziegler’s engagement, however, applies only to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York. No Australian appearance or connection to an Australian production has been announced.

The official Broadway website continues to list performances and tickets at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre beyond Ziegler’s scheduled departure, so 1 November is the end of her engagement rather than a closing date for the musical. No performance exceptions during her run have been announced. The production has also not identified who will assume the Charmion track after she leaves.

Photo Credit: DepositPhotos.com