{"id":3187,"date":"2026-09-21T21:28:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T19:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/?p=68616"},"modified":"2026-09-21T21:28:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T19:28:26","slug":"ariana-madix-on-what-made-her-fall-in-love-with-broadway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/ariana-madix-on-what-made-her-fall-in-love-with-broadway\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariana Madix on What Made Her \u201cFall in Love\u201c with Broadway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ariana Madix takes musical theater very seriously. In fact, she takes it even more seriously than sketch comedy \u2014 a bold declaration that\u2019s sure to tickle the most devoted fans of <i>Vanderpump Rules<\/i>, the Bravo reality show that first made her famous.<\/p>\n<p>The down-to-earth Florida native has certainly come a long way from her days of slinging drinks at SUR and feuding with frenemies on the beach about the merits of the L.A. improv scene. After all, she\u2019s come out on top in the defining pop culture scandal of the decade, conquered <i>Dancing with the Stars<\/i>, become the host of the biggest dating show on television and even added an Emmy nomination to her resume as America\u2019s darling of reality TV.<\/p>\n<p>And now, two years after she first rocked <i>Chicago<\/i> as Roxie Hart, Madix is back on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketmaster.com\/broadway?ac_link=BLOG_ariana-madix\">Broadway<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketmaster.com\/just-in-time-ny-tickets\/artist\/3357794?ac_link=BLOG_ariana-madix\"><i>Just in Time<\/i><\/a>, lighting up the Circle in the Square Theatre as Connie Francis opposite Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan\u2019s Bobby Darin through November 22.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Ariana Madix Now In Performances As Connie Francis | JUST IN TIME\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vr9gAhqOY1s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just love this show, and I love the music, and I love the part,\u201d she tells Ticketmaster from a dark, woodpaneled booth on the top floor of a Hell\u2019s Kitchen cocktail bar. The lighting is low in the private room, casting a glamorous aura over the reality TV favorite as she recounts her road back to the bright lights of Broadway.<\/p>\n<p>The opportunity to play the \u201850s-era pop singer came at the perfect time for the star, who just so happens to be on a break in between filming seasons of <i>Love Island USA<\/i>, the dating competition-turned-pop culture juggernaut she\u2019s hosted on Peacock since 2024. (Coincidentally, she took over the hosting gig from none other than Sarah Hyland, who originally replaced Tony nominee Gracie Lawrence as Connie Francis in <i>Just In Time<\/i> from October 2025 to last March.)<\/p>\n<p>And while Madix acknowledges that returning to Broadway was \u201calways the plan,\u201d starring in the jukebox musical filled with Darin\u2019s pioneering pop hits feels particularly special for the <i>Vanderpump Rules<\/i> alum, who spent her childhood hearing her dad work out the familiar chord progression in \u201cSplish Splash\u201d on the family\u2019s piano.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI played piano, but not nearly as well as my dad,\u201d she says. \u201cIt&#8217;s funny because in the show, we have the \u2018Imitation Medley\u2019 and Bobby talks about imitating all these different artists [like Elvis Presley and Fats Domino]. The piano chords in \u2018Splish Splash\u2019 are similar to so many other songs. So that was a very common theme that I definitely grew up listening to.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68620\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-68620\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-68620 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1.jpg\" alt=\"ariana madix just in time broadway connie francis\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ariana-Madix-and-the-cast-of-JUST-IN-TIME-1-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-68620\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ariana Madix in Just In Time, photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Her character\u2019s first big number in the show is \u201cMy First Real Love,\u201d the yearning Darin-penned love song Francis released as a single in 1956, but Madix\u2019s own love affair with being on stage sparked at a young age thanks to a (possibly bootleg) school production of <i>Oliver!<\/i><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was like an off-brand script that the school could afford to get the rights to,\u201d she recalls with a laugh. \u201cBut they let me have that first line of, like, \u2018Please, sir, I want some more.\u2019 I was a little orphan boy and there&#8217;s pictures of me with my little newsie cap on. I think that, for me, was my first experience that made me fall in love with it and just want to do it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><i>Just In Time<\/i> also presented new challenges for Madix to stretch her acting muscles. While belting out pop confections like \u201cAin\u2019t That a Shame,\u201d \u201cWho\u2019s Sorry Now\u201d and \u201dMack the Knife,\u201d it\u2019s always in the back of her mind that \u2014 unlike her last role as one of the most famous murderesses in the Cook County Jail \u2014 Connie Francis was a real person who lived an extraordinary life. (The real-life Francis passed away in July 2025 at the age of 87, just a few months after <i>Just in Time <\/i>opened on Broadway.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it&#8217;s important to the director of our show [Alex Timbers] and to everyone else that we&#8217;re not doing impressions,\u201d Madix says, speaking of the line between the Connie Francis of the history books and the Connie Francis she\u2019s playing onstage at Circle in the Square Theatre. \u201cBecause even early on in the show, Jeremy Jordan is introduced <i>as<\/i> Jeremy Jordan. It&#8217;s important that we are paying homage to them without doing some sort of impersonation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68621\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-68621\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-68621 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME.jpg\" alt=\"ariana madix just in time broadway pink gown\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-Ariana-Madix-in-JUST-IN-TIME-150x100.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2000\/1334;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-68621\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ariana Madix in Just In Time, photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cBut that being said, I&#8217;ve been working really hard with a dialect coach as well, because while I know that I&#8217;m going to bring myself to the role, I don&#8217;t want to say or do anything that brings you right into 2026,\u201d she continues before adding with another chuckle, \u201cI don&#8217;t want there to be any moment where I say something that just sounds like&#8230;a Florida girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And yet, being authentically herself is precisely what has sent Madix\u2019s star into the stratosphere over the last few years. Just days before our interview, she\u2019d been in L.A., walking the red carpet at the 2026 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in a breathtaking blush pink gown.<\/p>\n<p>The moment was surreal for the one-time bartender, who found herself nominated in a category against veritable icons like RuPaul, Jeff Probst and Alan Cumming \u2014 the latter of whom ultimately took home his third consecutive Emmy as host of the <i>other <\/i>Peacock series currently dominating pop culture, <i>The Traitors<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>Yet even in the midst of arguably the biggest triumph of her career, Madix is characteristically humble, quick to share credit for the honor with the entire <i>Love Island<\/i> crew, who work nearly round-the-clock in Fiji to pump out 30-plus episodes per season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s a personal nomination because I was nominated for host, but it also feels like a way for our show to be honored as well,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it feels like I was able to represent all of what I believe to be the biggest technical feat in that category, of getting the show edited and out and as amazing as it is in less than 24 hours, sometimes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, for me getting to be there and kind of represent for our big 400-person group project, it felt amazing,\u201d she adds. \u201cAnd my mom got to come with me, and that was huge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now that awards season, recouplings and wrangling Islanders at the reunion are all in her rearview mirror for the moment, Madix couldn\u2019t be happier or more at home focusing on her new 100-person group project, which is happening eight shows a week in the basement of <i>Wicked<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still always have this feeling, like, when I was <i>on<\/i> Broadway and then when I left, I just had this feeling of, \u2018I want to be in the play!\u2019 she says with a grin. \u201cI always want to be in the play.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketmaster.com\/just-in-time-ny-tickets\/artist\/3357794?ac_link=BLOG_ariana-madix\">Tickets for <i>Just In Time<\/i><\/a> are available via Ticketmaster.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inventory-widget-custom-placement\">\n<div class=\"inventory-widget__loading text--align-center\">\n<p>Loading Events<\/p>\n<p> <i class=\"fal fa-spinner\"><\/i> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/ariana-madix-interview-just-in-time-broadway\/\">Ariana Madix on What Made Her \u201cFall in Love\u201c with Broadway<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\">Ticketmaster Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ticketmaster<\/strong> is the world\u2019s largest ticketing and event-management company, specializing in sales, distribution, and technology for concerts, sports, theater, and family events. While most people know it simply as the website where they buy tickets, it is actually a massive, vertically integrated corporation that forms half of Live Nation Entertainment, following a 2010 merger.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Find out more at Ticketmaster:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/ariana-madix-interview-just-in-time-broadway\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ariana-madix-interview-just-in-time-broadway\" target=\"_blank\">Article and Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/submit-event\/\">CLICK HERE to ADVERTISE your Event<\/a> for free (you can include a direct link to the Registration Page.<\/h2><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ariana Madix takes musical theater very seriously. In fact, she takes it even more seriously than sketch comedy \u2014 a bold declaration that\u2019s sure to tickle the most devoted fans of Vanderpump Rules, the Bravo reality show that first made her famous. The down-to-earth Florida native has certainly come a long way from her days [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/ariana-madix-interview-just-in-time-broadway\/\">Ariana Madix on What Made Her \u201cFall in Love\u201c with Broadway<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\">Ticketmaster Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[407],"tags":[234],"class_list":["type-post","category-news","tag-ticketmaster","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}