The Brightest Light On Broadway: Ricky Ubeda

The choreographer Justin Peck first pitched Ricky Ubeda the idea for Illinoise, a dance piece set to the music of Sufjan Stevens, on a walk in Riverside Park. Ubeda, a 28-year-old dancer who won season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance, had worked with Peck for several years. “I was immediately on board,” recalls Ubeda. “The piece just sounded fresh and unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” After a sold-out run at the Park Avenue Armory in March, the show slid onto Broadway last week, just in time to qualify for the Tonys. After a sold-out run at the Park Avenue Armory in March, the show slid onto Broadway and garnered four Tony nominations, including one for Best Musical, making it this season’s dark horse. Ubeda, who also appeared on stage in recent revivals of Carousel, On the Town and West Side Story, plays the central character Henry, a young writer caught between the demons of his past and the promise of his future. “It’s so rewarding to play a character that is figuring out how to sift through all of life’s stuff,” Ubeda says. “Whenever I step into his shoes, I feel so much empathy for his journey. I really feel this sense of wanting to take care of him. I find it incredibly healing.” Of course, Henry only speaks through the steps of his moving body. “But what’s being communicated is somehow more powerful than words,” explains Ubeda. “It cuts straight to the soul.”