Showstoppers: Solea Pfeiffer

Recreating the iconic role of Penny Lane in a musical adaptation of Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous is a daunting task, but Solea Pfeiffer is up for the challenge. “She’s a character that I was dying to know more about,” says Pfeiffer, a child of anthropologist parents who was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Seattle. (Her family is no stranger to the arts; her mom was a dancer, and her dad is a guitar player.) Pfeiffer, a University of Michigan graduate, has performed many iconic roles—including Eliza Hamilton in the first national tour of Hamilton and Evita at New York City Center—but Almost Famous marks her Broadway debut. “It feels like something that is simultaneously long overdue and right on time,” explains the 27-year-old actress. “From the long tech days to greeting fans at the stage door, I’m ready for it all. And I intend to enjoy every minute of it.”