Meet Joy Woods Star of 'The Notebook' On Broadway
Joy was photographed in New York by Julia Sariy. She was styled by Jason Rembert. Makeup by Rebecca Restrepo and hair by Karla Serrano. Interview by Alison Engstrom.
Congratulations on starring in the new musical, ‘The Notebook’ on Broadway. Did you have any relationship with the movie prior, I feel like everyone has a story with it. for me, It came out when I was in college, and I went to school in Charleston where they filmed it.
I was three when it came out. I didn't get around to watching it or reading the book until the show was in my life. The day before rehearsal started, I was like, let me sit down and see what the movie is all about. I didn't want to take anything from the movie or have any influence on my performance, so it was more a watch for entertainment. But I definitely enjoyed myself and I had the bawling my eyes out experience for sure.
The story is unique in that there are three Allies and you play the middle Allie.
Like you said, there are three different Allies and Noah's on stage at three different points in their lives. One when they're 17 and just meeting at the precipice of their young adult life and it’s their first love. It’s all fiery, bubbly, and quick. Allie's, parents aren't approving of Noah because of whatever social status or class he's in and they separate the two of them. They take Allie home for the summer instead of keeping them where she was vacationing and they're apart for the next 10 years. Noah goes to Vietnam and he's living his life but he ends up building the house. Whereas Allie goes to college and ends up meeting somebody and getting engaged. The moment when we meet middle Allie is when she sees that Noah is A, still alive, B, looking good (laughs). She sees him in the newspaper with the house that he promised her he would build her. The middle section of their lives is dedicated to their connection and finding out if everything is still there and if it's still worth tryin g to be together.
I know that the music is amazing. Can you talk about working with Ingrid Michaelson? I watched your performance on ‘the Kelly Clarkson show’, incredible!
Thank you very much. It's been a dream, truly. I feel like Ingrid and I really understand each other and the way that we hear and get music. It's been awesome establishing that kind of language with her and just hearing how her mind works and being able to grow from that and her wisdom. I mean, The Notebook is already so heightened and lush that the material itself sings before there's even music involved. It all fits very well. Ingrid was the perfect person to score the musical that is about life. It's about these two people, who you follow through their entire life and you get to see all the different things that are involved—the awkwardness, the hilarious moments, and of course, the love. But with love comes fights, with love comes having to make choices, having to make sacrifices. It's so complicated and so simple at the same time. I think Ingrid captures that in such a beautiful way.
How did you get cast?
When I was in high school, I met a Broadway actor. I was told that I needed to make a reel since I had no material, or videos of myself doing anything. So I grabbed a bunch of scraps from performances that I'd done throughout high school and I posted it to YouTube. Years go by—I forget the password to that YouTube account—and it’s still up there. Ingrid saw it and that’s how I got the part.
That’s an amazing story— Ingrid Michelson saw your YouTube that you lost the password to and she contacted you?
She saw a video of me singing when I was in high school and they reached out to my agents. Then I went back to meet everyone, but by that point it was set in stone, it felt very crazy. There was no way they wanted me especially for something like that. I had never done anything like that before in my life. I felt so unprepared and small, and this whole process has been proving to myself that I was capable of playing a role like this.
Prior, you had done some other Broadway shows?
I've done Off-Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors, where played one of the urchins, so an ensemble member that is kind of in the background for most of it and doesn't have much stage time. After that, I did SIX: The Musical, where there’s a girl group—it’s also ensemble-based—and everybody gets their moment, but mainly it’s about the unit as a whole. So I'd never had a chance to get comfortable with being seen because you hid behind the glitz and glam of being a pop star.
Talk to me about your first performance. Was it an out-of-body experience?
I was a part of the out-of-town show they did in Chicago, which was nice, I got to go home. I hadn't been back in so long. You get to see how audiences react to it, how it's received, and what we can fix before moving onto Broadway and critics sink their claws into it. I will never forget that at the top of the show I came out and I had a moment with Ryan Vasquez, who plays middle Noah. A portion of the beginning of the opening number we were singing and he was hugging me. I was shaking so viscerally out of fear, being nervous, jitters, and the adrenaline of it all. He had to straight jacket me to get me to breathe and stop shaking and that's how it was the whole show. I shook enough to get those shakes out for the rest of the run, but I don't think that sense of adrenaline ever goes away.
Talk about a pinch-me moment. I think for many people who want to pursue theater, Broadway, or the West End is the ‘big dream’. Was that your goal when you were younger?
My ultimate dream was to be a dancer on Broadway. I danced for most of my life and I thought that I was going to be doing tap in a big group ensemble, but the universe just had such a different plan of singing and acting, too.
So you weren't even singing, you were just dancing, wow!
I didn't think that that was going to be my ticket in. Water yourself and the universe will reward you.
How do you nurture yourself between shows?
Honestly, I'm still figuring that out. I haven't done a role like this before and there's a lot of emotional labor done. And so the best thing for me has been sleeping whenever I can, however I can, wherever I can. And when it's a two show day, I have to get steak tacos, or else the second show would be bad (laughs). Maybe it's a routine that my body is used to.
Like you, I'm big on manifesting and putting out the energy that you want for the future. So is there anything that you want to put out there for the future?
That's a great question. As theme in my life lately has been, as soon as I establish a new dream, it comes true faster than expected and then I have to find a new dream soon after that. I'd really like to do TV and film eventually, but the universe is always showing me there's something else that is supposed to happen.
I think that comes from opening your heart and your mind to different possibilities. Sometimes we kind of get zeroed in and get rigid, but it's expansiveness that allows cool things to happen.
I'd really like to dance on Broadway soon.
It'll happen. You'll get a call today!
I need to stretch first (laughs).
