A Star To be
Interview with Touring Broadway Actress, Savannah Fisher
Interview by Arianna Freels
April 16th, 2025
Arianna Freels interviews Savannah Fisher, a touring actress on Broadway's "Annie," who plays the role of Star to Be. Savannah shares her journey from Detroit to New York, her extensive theater background, and her experiences working with notable figures like Whoopi Goldberg. She describes a typical day on tour, the camaraderie among cast members, and the challenges of performing. Savannah emphasizes the importance of practice, self-growth, and the impact of representation in theater. She aspires to a long-running Broadway career and aims to inspire others through her performances, encouraging them to pursue their dreams.
All right, hello, everyone. My name is Arianna Freels. I am creator and editor chief of brand organ magazine media company, and today I have a very special guest with me. She is currently on the touring production of Annie. Her name is Savannah Fisher. Welcome to the garden. Ms.Fisher.
Savannah Fisher: Hi. Thank you so much for having me so excited.
Arianna: Yes, yes, yes. So tell us, the viewers a little bit about yourself?
SF:Well, my name is Savannah Fisher, I am on the Broadway national tour of Annie. I play the star to be amongst many other incredible characters. And what's really cool about this iteration is that our star to be is African American women, which is really awesome to see someone coming to New York and having a dream. You know, that looks like me. So this is really special. I'm from Detroit, Michigan. I moved to New York to pursue my Broadway dreams a few years ago, and I've been on tour since I graduated and moved this is my fourth national tour. Oh, wow, congrats, awesome. Thank you. Yeah, yeah. And this is my second year on Annie, so that's really cool, too.
AF: This is That's amazing. Yes, and I have been doing some research on you. You have a lot of credits to your name. You, yes, that's amazing. You just ended a fresh career too. I've also you were in Sister Act as Deloris, and then you also played in the wiz as and a bunch of others, Jesus Christ, superstar dog, man and Godspell.
SF: Yes. There are so many things I've been doing theater since I was, like, 10 years old. So those were the start of me doing it professionally, which was really awesome. And what's cool about Sister Act is we did Annie at Madison Square Garden in December with Whoopi Goldberg. And so I got to be like, Hey, girl, yes, queen, yes.
AF: It was meant to be, meant to be. Yes. That is so cool. I bet you have you had many other celebrities come up to you and like, you'll praise your work, or like, maybe, like a meet in, like a run in,
SF: Honestly, she's the biggest star that I've gotten to come across and work with so closely I've gotten to be on the news several times, which is really cool to see, like anchors in my city kind of congratulate me on my work and things like that. But she's definitely one of the biggest names, and honestly,one of the most special and kind people I have ever met. It's really crazy.
AF: That's great to hear, and especially when you are you know someone that you've idolize, you know, as a kid, and then you see them on TV, and you know, you finally get to meet them. That must been, like, the biggest aha moment.
SF: Like really was a dream come true. I was like, wow, they'd say, don't meet your like people you look up to this, yeah, don't hear your rose. But she was incredible. That was really once in a lifetime, like opportunity to get to work with her like that,
AF: Is there any other famous actress that you would maybe want to model your career after?
SF: I get compared to Audra McDonald a lot, and I love it so much. Great actress. Compliment to me. She has her nose in so many different veins of the arts and in theater and in TV, and she grew up being like she made a way kind of for black women in this industry. And I would love to be a trailblazer like her. We actually got to rehearse next door to her. She's doing gypsy on Broadway now. And. And so I ran into her a few times, but it was early in the morning. I didn't want to bother Right, right? Yeah. Also felt meant to be
AF:One of those, one of these days you're going to meet her, yes, Oh, for sure, yes, yes. So what is a typical day? Look for you when you're a touring actress,
SF: um, if you want to know more, follow me on Tiktok Vanna underscore Maria, because I'm I've been recording days in my lives, and I have yet to post them. But they're coming soon because they look
so different, busy actress,
they look so different every single day. Um, today, for example, we woke up and we had a note session because our director happened to be in town last night. This isn't something that happens all the time. We haven't seen her, actually, since January, so it was really awesome to get to receive more feedback from her and see how things have changed, how things have grown. So I went to my notes session and hung out with a few of my cast mates. Started to do some things to get ready for the show, like steaming and example, we woke up and we had a note session because our director happened to be in town last night. This isn't something that happens all the time. We haven't seen her, actually, since January, so it was really awesome to get to receive more feedback from her and see how things have changed, how things have grown. So I went to my notes session and hung out with a few of my cast mates. Started to do some things to get ready for the show, like steaming and all that good stuff. And then we have a show later tonight and tomorrow is a little different, because we have a two show day, so we wake up and get ready and go to the show around noon. Do that show. Maybe hang out and eat in between, go back. Do the next one. Maybe do something afterwards. Most days we're traveling. Sometimes we travel into shows, which is very rare. But some days we'll get up at like, three, four in the morning, and have to be on a plane, and then get to rest for an hour, do a rehearsal, sound check everything, get ready for show and have a show that same day. So it really is an adventure. Every single day is a new day.
AF:Wow, that's an early call time. And then you're like, running around, like, I can only like, oh my goodness, and you have like, lines to remember,
SF: and yeah yeah, songs and dances and blocking and movement and all that. And people have no idea sometimes that we've been doing those things, or that we've traveled two or three days to get to a place, and the weather's different. And I was thinking so funny when I'm walking past the stage door and people are already getting ready to take their seats and I have not even begun to prepare, we have no idea I'm in the show. They don't have to rush because I'm not ready.
AF: So I did two musicals back in high school. I did Shrek the Musical, and I did Once Upon a Mattress.
SF: That's also so good. Oh, my goodness, yes.
AF: And, like, I do remember, like, you know, rushing. Like people were, like, you know, slowly creeping. I'm like, oh my goodness, had to get in my costume(Laughs) so you on, like, a bigger stage. I can only imagine what you're you know going through.
SF:I'm used to it at this point. It's kind of crazy, but that's still alive.
AF:what are some fun facts behind the scenes that you can tell us?
SF:goof around every single day when we're not on stage. We have, like, backstage choreography that we've made up for ourselves that we're doing to the songs that sometimes we get in trouble for doing because we're just a rowdy bunch, and we're all really good friends, which is really cool. I was on stage the other day thinking like, Oh, I wonder if they realize who is, like best friends here, that their parts have nothing to do with each other. They really opposite on stage, yeah, but like, we're all really close and just having fun. We get to see our dogs a lot backstage and hang out with them and no toy. Yeah, they're really sweet, and they love people so much. So that's really cool when we're not on stage. Yeah, this show's really fast paced, though there's not a lot of downtime backstage. We're we're probably either dancing around, goofing around, or like, doing what we need to do, like changing our clothes, changing our wigs, getting some water we apply more and more makeup, though. Yeah, as we go throughout the show, based on our characters arcs, that's just how it ends up. Yeah, it's, it's really a whole nother show going on back there.
AF: Complete, a complete different show. Yeah, so you are playing the star to be, yes, in Annie. So do you have a personal connection to being the start to be, because you are a star to be
SF: What's crazy is that I really just get to go out there and be myself, which I won't say is rare, because all characters come from a point of view from yourself. But this one is like, dead on. This is me. I have always been a vocalist, I've always been a dancer. And when it was time to choose a school for college, I was like, How do I just do everything I want to do? So I found out about doing musical theater as a degree. I went to school for that, and I've always planned to move to New York and follow those dreams. I've been auditioning, auditioning. I moved from Michigan and I drove there, so that was a 10 hour journey in a car full of everything I own, yeah, like, it was literally three bucks because I paid off my apartment for half the year so that they would let me stay there,because otherwise.(Laughs)
AF: Yeah Yeah
SF: four times the rent in New York, and I was just getting out of school. So I was like, please, I have enough savings. Can I just come right? Came there, subletted on a apartemnt. I had a hope and a prayer and a blessing with my bags, and I got an agent, and I started auditioning for different things. So yeah, it's I feel very connected to this character, and I have more things that I started auditioning for different things. and I have more things that I want to achieve. And so I do feel still the like grinding energy of the character, where it's like, okay, I'm just getting started. Let's go tonight. I might be in the slums. I might be in slums. Um, I It might look crazy. Don't judge me, because one day we're gonna be in the penthouse and we're gonna have one day we dreamed of. Yeah, I really love bringing people that hope, because everyone has a dream. So it's really cool to get to do it and hopefully it like inspire people to go after their dreams too,
AF: Yes. And there's nothing like seeing someone that a looks like you and then has the same dreams and pathways of your life. And it's just the best thing you can relate to this. You know you hear someone where they're singing, where they're performing, and you see yourself represent like you are, the living embodiment of your character. So it is a joy to see someone like you perform in that role.
SF:Yes, I do take a lot of pride in that my first musical ever, I was in fifth grade, and we were doing susical, and I love really, isn't it so good? Like I had never seen a live stage musical. I've only seen the movie musicals like singing in the rain, hairspray, the ones that I love and adore, and they said it was a requirement in our music class to audition. I've always loved to sing, but I just didn't know how I fit into musical theater. So then we watched a production of it to get a gage
on what we wanted to audition for. I saw this boisterous, stunning, glowing black woman playing, she was the only one in the whole production playing the sour kangaroo. And I said, that's all right, yes, I just remember being such a young girl, being like, I can do that too, because she did it. I never saw myself as any of the other characters. I know differently. Now times have changed, but back then, I was like, this is where I fit. So it really was super inspiring and changed my life to see someone who looked like me on stage in an art form where we haven't always been like allowed to be a part of,
AF:You know, here at Brown orchid, we value womanhood and blackness, and there is especially us being, you know, we were kids, little Black Girls seeing that one person who looks like you makes a huge differenceYou know, now I, you know, there's so many musicals and plays that are about, you know, the black experience. But again, especially being in the role I know the star to be, you know, the first African American to play the role, you know
NOTE : Actress Jataria Heyward played the role in 2022.
that is has a lot of significance, you know. So, how do you represent blackness? Or you know yourself in different roles..
SF:Um, that's actually very interesting, because I've noticed myself leaning more into it for other characters as well, like Mrs. Greer, someone in the 20s and 30s, who's the manager of this whole entire. Her establishment, like this huge mansion, she probably wouldn't normally have that job. And so I during that time period at least, and I love adding, like, just different flair to it, and being myself in different moments where others might like be more reserved, especially once we meet Annie and we love her, we're gonna adopt her. I'm like, yeah. Like, part like, Yeah, let's go. Y'all come on. So that's really interesting. But yeah, otherwise, I feel like just being up there and being myself is genuinely like, black enough, yeah, to where people can see and be like, wow, you know, I could do that
AF:that's the best part, because it only takes, you knowThis is something that I want to do. Yeah. And like, you know, for me, like being in the fashion industry, like, you know, I used to watch that so Raven as a kid. And like seeing, like, Raven Simone, you know, being a fashion designer and being herself, like, I'm like, I would like to pursue fashion, yeah. So is there anything that you want to pursue later down your career? Is it TV? Is it, you know, still on Broadway?
SF:Um, yes, I would love to have a long running Broadway career. I just love being on the stage. I love how it's different every single night, what you bring to it. I love the energy from the audience, I love the community that it brings like when people come together, 1000s of people to sit without their phones and watch and have an experience together unplugged. I think that is so special, and so I would love to do this for the rest of my life. Truly, I would love to go on to when Tony's hopefully be an EGOT legend like Whoopi Goldberg. I'd love to seep into some movies, like, just get my hands into a little bit of everything, because I really love dancing, singing, acting, like, modeling clothes, like I literally, I love it all. So I would love to just thrive,
AF:, and you will be on our stage, stages and screens for many years to come. Yes, but back to just the Broadway of it all. What are some of your favorite things that you've learned from being a part of Annie?
SF:I have learned so much from being a part of this production, my director, my music supervisor, the whole music team, my choreographers, they've all helped me to grow so much, and that's one thing that I thrive. I strive to do in every contract that I'm a part of, is get better. Yes, that's like my number one goal, in my mind, is to feel like I have grown in some way from this experience and this one, I found how to be myself, like sometimes when I'm singing a number, I've I've grown to Be good at emulating other people like their mannerisms and their voice, but my team here really pushed me and encouraged me to find it for myself, and through a lot of musical practices and just getting to do it every single day has really allowed me to grow into my own voice and how I would perform it, and not just how, because there's been so many star to bes, and there's kind of a straight line to how it goes, and I've loved to find those moments of like syncopation and surprise and dynamic and like growth and just like and growls and like loud like, I've just learned to not be afraid, to one make a mistake. Yes, a lot of times I would make a mistake, and I would get so down on myself. And I've learned to just never give up on it. I've also
learned you have to allow yourself to grow. Yeah,
that's that's really how you grow. Like you just, you never quit. Um, this has really solidified my thinking that you can do anything if you practice. I tell people at the stage door that all the time who say they want to do that just makes perfect, yeah? Like you can literally do anything in this whole entire world, if you put your mind to it, it does not matter who you are. And so I've learned to do that and just forgive myself. And if there's something I didn't like, just be like, Okay, well, good job for trying. Like, slay, how can we do that? It's better next time that's it like, great job. You're good at adjusting. Like, I've developed a more positive self talk. I've become a better actor, a better dancer. I've gotten more control over my felt and things like that, like I feel like, I've just grown in all ways, even as a person, even through interacting with the people around me, this has really been like, truly a life changing experience. And I'm so glad that I've gotten to do it for another year so that I can, like, grow even more, because it's even different than what I've been doing the last year, really. So it just continues to grow and evolve, and I learn.omething new every day. So it's really
cool.
AF:That's the best thing, you know, you have to allow yourself anyone you have to be able to, you know, explore other options, not to be, you know, so stuck in one set of thinking, yeah, you have to allow yourself to make mistakes, you know, yeah, even at my, you know, at 25 I'm just like, oh my goodness, like, if I would have done this, or, you know, allow himself to grow and to change. Yeah, just
SF:Yeah, just
know that everything is working out for you. It's going how it should be, like, it's, it's really gonna be okay.
AF:What is the best advice that you've ever heard?
SF: best advice that I've ever heard, actually, one of the the best advice that I've ever heard is that you can do anything if you practice. I literally live by it. Yes. The other advice that is really special is something I actually learned from Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi Goldberg's book bits and pieces that I've read recently, I decided to read it after I knew her, so that I read it in her voice.
AF:( Laughs)Okay, that is a good thing that you have that!
SF:yeah, it's so cool, and it makes it even funnier in certain sections, honestly, but one thing was to always be kind to your crew. I'm already kind to them. I love them so much. I know that the show does not go on without them like it's it's kind of crazy, the stigma that happens like between actors and grew because we get all of the recognition for it, but they're backstage, literally making it go on. We would havenothing without them. Would be bare bones. Camera, no hair, no cameras, no temporals, no sound. Yeah, you would have nothing and so also, one of the reasons why she said that is because they know so much, when you think about it, they're participating in a different way, where they get to watch and study your art form every single day. So if you really want to know, she was saying, if you really want to know how a scene went look to your crew, because they've seen you do it a million times, they know how it should go, they know how it should look, they know how it should sound. They know, especially in like movies with the perfect shot, is So, if anything, they're extraordinary experts at acting things like that. So I thought that that was a super interesting take, and that's something that I've definitely taken with
me for sure.
AF: That is great advice. You know, always be kind to everyone, exactly the people behind the scenes, because they're also the ones doing the heavy lifting and making sure shows run smooth. And they've been there just as the same time, if not longer, longer behind
SF:the scenes, they're they're way longer than we are. I always feel bad,)(Laughs) and I've done crew before. On my very first tour, actually, we were both actors and stage management and the crew. So if something was going wrong on stage, I am particular. Was on sound. So I would have to run around, like, with my phone when I wasn't on stage, and try to fix people's mics, change their frequencies and like, yes, and move the panel. Yeah, it was. It was really a great experience. So I have, and we put up the set, not nuts and bolts and wood, and we would have to configure it every day, take it out of the truck, load it back into the truck. So I just have a different appreciation for everything that's going on from that experience and it it really is special. Like, like, I've been so blessed. Like, this career path has really led me to learn so many different things every time, and I really do just love it and enjoy it. So it's really awesome.
AF:one last question, what. Do you want your audience to take away from seeing Annie?
SF:the feeling of hope and joy and knowing that if things did not turn out well today, that it's okay because we are blessed turn out well today, that it's okay because we are blessed with another chance to wake up and try again tomorrow and like, it's okay. You don't have to be yourself up, you don't have to do any of those things there. You don't have to feel any shame or anything like you sometimes you just gotta, like, get down in the mud and like, like, work for it and go do it and it like the story is just so special, because through every trial and tribulation, she has street smarts, she has charisma, and through what is seemingly like nothing that she has, she grows to make all of her dreams, and even more than she dreamed of, come true. And I just want people to know that they can do the same thing, whatever they dream and even more than what they everything is possible gonna come true. Literally anything is possible. It's all possible. And there's always a reason to be hopeful, even in the darkest of times, that that was, which simulates, which is similar to things that are happening today. In this time, even through those struggles, there's always a bright light at the end of the tunnel, and to just live your life and like, be happy and love the people around you, like, just be loving and yes and kind
AF: Yes, and Surround yourself with ositivity and yeah, everything you want will happen. Yeah, you have to continue to put in the work. I love, the whole moral of Annie itself.
SF:It really does make me cry when everyone is singing tomorrow all together during the bows, we do a reprise of it, and the audience is standing at that point, and we're all just kind of in this room, like I said, with no phones and no other electronics, just feeling the vibes and loving on the people around us and singing this song that somehow we all know doesn't matter why
AF'": Everyone loves tomorrow!
SF: it's perfect. It's it really is so special that all generations have continued to love this story and even this song. Yes, they don't even know, um, half the time, half of the time that they're singing about being so hopeful,
AF: which is interesting to me, that like, when I hear, like songs trending on tick tock, or, you know, whatever's trending now, and it's an older song, and whether it's like a Where's Broadway song or It's just a, you know, a decade old song. People think it's new, but it's actually like three four decades like these are timeless songs, and any timeless production, it absolutely is all right. Savannah, that wraps up our interview. Is there anything else you would like to tell our viewers,
SF:see Annie. There are dogs. There are such cute kids. They're also so nice. Everyone's amazing. It really is like a star studded cast. Every single person is absolutely phenomenal. So definitely come see it
Watch our Interview with Savannah HERE
Stream the Brown Orchid Podcast HERE
