Time has released its , which recognizes icons making an impact outside of traditional power structures. A number of Broadway favorites made this year's list, including Ashley Park, Cole Escola, Shaina Taub, and Rene茅 Rapp.
Park, a veteran of Broadway's Mean Girls, The King and I, and more, was honored with an essay from Mean Girls writer Tina Fey. "Spending time with Ashley is a cross between Paris Fashion Week, one of those dancing inflatables outside a car wash, and a TikTok compilation of 'funniest jump scares,'" . Speaking of their work together on the Broadway version of Mean Girls, Fey says "[h]er singing, comic timing, and heart-颅wrenching vulnerability were everything we needed."
Taub, the writer and star of Broadway's Suffs, got an essay from Hamilton scribe and star Lin-Manuel Miranda. "Her songs are catchy, muscular, and unforgettable: once you鈥檝e spent an evening with her characters, you鈥檙e hooked," .
Escola, currently making a splash as the writer and star of Oh, Mary!, got a tribute from two-time Tony winner Cynthia Nixon, who spoke about Escola's madcap performance as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. "Playing Mary Todd Lincoln as a lascivious, alcoholic, untalented, wanna颅be cabaret performer in a tight, 80-颅minute romp that combines drag, U.S. history, Shakespeare, vaudeville, and, yes, cabaret, the singular Cole Escola has penned the most creative, unexpected, outrageous, and funniest play to hit Broadway since I don鈥檛 know when," . "And as an actor, I can tell you that Cole鈥檚 jaw-颅dropping rendition of their unlikely chosen role is a lesson to thespians everywhere in what committing to a character really looks like."
Rapp, a pop artist and star of Mean Girls on stage and screen, was honored by Busy Philipps, who played Mrs. George to Rapp's Regina in the 2024 film version of the 2018 Broadway musical. "When Rene茅 is onscreen, it鈥檚 simply impossible to look anywhere else鈥攈er talent is innate and her charisma is palpable," . "When she opens her mouth to sing, what comes out is jaw-颅droppingly pure and powerful. But it鈥檚 when Rene茅 is just being Rene茅 that her real superpower shines. She is unapologetically herself. She has no need for a filter because she stands firmly rooted in her beliefs and laser-focused on her vision."
See the complete Time100 Next List at .
