Hannah Cruz Doesn’t Want to Follow in Someone Else’s Footsteps

Cruz will make her Broadway debut in Suffs this spring, but she refuses to get ahead of herself. For now, she’s all in on The Connector, Jason Robert Brown’s new musical currently running at MCC Theater.

Ben Levi Ross and Hannah Cruz in The Connector at MCC Theater. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Hannah Cruz’s resume is packed with theatrical premieres. In the last two years alone, she’s starred in three world premiere musicals — Suffs at The Public and Only Gold and The Connector at MCC. Add to that the North American premiere of The Da Vinci Code at Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine, and you’ve got a very busy schedule developing show after show.

But the grind doesn’t bother Cruz. And the opportunity to develop something new is exactly what keeps drawing her in. She revels in being the first to play a character — to make it her own without worrying about what’s been done before. “In the beginning of my career, I did a lot of tours of already really successful shows,” she says. She cut her teeth touring the likes of Bullets Over Broadway, Legally Blonde, and Hamilton. “While I loved doing that, there was a part of me that really bucked against the idea of, ‘Now you stand on eight because that's what the person before you did.’ It felt very limiting.”

So she sought out new stories to tell. “I like being in the room from the inception to put my two cents in,” she says. “I think it's so special to be able to create the stencil that other people will fill in and find other parts of.” And she’s finding a truly collaborative space in The Connector. The new musical helmed by composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Bridges of Madison County) is still in previews, being tweaked and honed in preparation for opening night, and Cruz isn’t afraid to make her opinion known as the preview process evolves. “In some rooms, they say it's a safe space [to speak up], but it's not,” she explains. “This one actually feels like everyone can have an opinion or ask a question. I feel very comfortable voicing concerns or offering suggestions.”

But that level of comfort wasn’t always there. Cruz is becoming more confident as an artist as she gets older, even around high-profile artists she’s always admired, like Jason Robert Brown. “I'm happy that all of these opportunities are happening in my 30s because I do feel more self-assured,” she says. "If I was in my 20s, I think I might not be able to speak up in rooms like this. I think 25-year-old me would've been starstruck.”

It’s safe to say Cruz has become attached to The Connector, and she laments that she’ll have to say goodbye to it so soon. It’s a limited run, as many off-Broadway shows are, and it’s currently scheduled to close on March 17. But there’s always the chance another opportunity arises to do the show again. “I hope [The Connector] has another life, just because I want to do it for as long as possible,” she says. “I cannot express how much I love doing it.”

That hope for a future is what drives these development processes forward. And while sights are often set on the big stage, Cruz won’t let herself get caught up in all that. “I hear it all the time — whatever show I’m doing. Someone’s like, ‘We might transfer to Broadway,’” she says. “I've learned to let that go. If [a show] has a life after [this run], wonderful. If I'm a part of it, amazing. But I think to focus on anything outside of the run you're doing is distracting for no reason.”

Ally Bonino, Phillipa Soo, Shaina Taub, Hannah Cruz, and Nadia Dandash in Suffs at The Public. Photo by Joan Marcus.

But sometimes the transfer does manifest, and for Cruz, it has with Suffs, a new musical that she has been attached to since its run at The Public in 2022. With it, Cruz will make her Broadway debut this spring, stepping into the role of Inez Milholland, a larger role than the one she’d played off-Broadway. While Phillipa Soo originated the role of Inez, Cruz doesn’t worry about butting up against Soo’s interpretation — partly because of the extensive revision process Suffs has undergone. “The show has changed so much that almost nothing that existed of Inez [off-Broadway] still exists,” Cruz teases. “It's easier for me to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch in that way.” It’s another show she’s been able to help shape and watch grow from its early developmental stages — and there’s still work to be done.

While Cruz is excited to dig back into the world of Suffs, she’s not letting herself get carried away yet. The Connector still needs her full attention. “I have also been waiting for [my Broadway debut] for 14 years,” she says. “I want to give everything I possibly can to it, but I have to save and conserve for this other piece that I'm so incredibly invested in and love so deeply. I have a lot of literature on Inez that I want to read, but I'm not even going to touch it until we start rehearsals for Suffs. For now, I want to stay here.”

The Connecter runs through March 17 at MCC Theater.
Suffs begins previews on March 26 at the Music Box Theater.