Meet Broadway’s Penny Lane In The New Musical ‘Almost Famous’

Solea Pfeiffer had just finished playing Eliza Hamilton in the first national tour of Hamilton when she heard about Almost Famous, the musical. The show had been adapted from Cameron Crowe’s beloved film that was based on Crowe’s life as a teenage rock journalist in the 1970s.

Pfeiffer had received an email with an offer to do a table read of the musical. “At the time I had gotten my wisdom teeth removed and was having a really bummer week,” says Pfeiffer who knew the film but had never seen it. “But then I watched the movie and instantly thought, I have to be the one who plays this.”

That woman was Penny Lane, the free-spirited muse to Stillwater rock guitarist Russell Hammond. As Penny Lane explains in the film, “We are not groupies. Groupies sleep with rock stars because they want to be near someone famous. We’re here because of the music. We are Band Aids… We inspire the music.”

Opened earlier this month at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Almost Famous contains a book and lyrics by Cameron Crowe, features music and lyrics by Tom Kitt, direction by Jeremy Herrin, and choreography by Sarah O’Gleby.

Pfeiffer, who is known for her lush belt and silky vocals and has played a range of roles, from Maria in West Side Story to Evita, was completely smitten with Penny Lane and the iconic film about a 15-year-old who gets an assignment from Rolling Stone to go on tour with the up-and-coming band Stillwater.

“Penny Lane is vulnerable, fearless and a people person to her core. She is the smartest person in the room. Penny Lane knows how to play on people’s heartstrings and is good to her core. She knows how to manipulate a situation to work in her favor,” says Pfeiffer.But Penny Lane also has to face her own struggle. “At the end of the day, she’s a real person who gets hurt and has to learn how to rise above,” says Pfeiffer who stars in A Jazzman’s Blues, the Tyler Perry Netflix film. “Ultimately she’s a woman whochooses herself. Before she chooses any man in this story, she chooses her own journey. That’s powerful and beautiful and I love that about her.”

Jeryl Brunner: Can you share more about first getting cast for Almost Famous?

Solea Pfeiffer: I never auditioned for this show. I was lucky to have been in a place where some amazing casting directors threw my hat in the ring for a first table read. A lot of people don’t necessarily know the process of how shows get made. They get developed for a really long time through what are called workshops and labs. We get very used to being in one iteration and not the next one. But I had that first table read and thought, Oh my gosh, I am your girl. I let the team know how I felt.

I had done a few iterations of the show and then they let me go. I was so sad that I sent an email saying, “I think you’re making a mistake.” Then when I was performing in Camelot at Lincoln Center opposite Lin Manuel Miranda, I had a life-affirming moment. The show was only one night but I thought, Okay, maybe everything’s gonna be okay. I didn’t know what my next job was going to be. But the day before that performance I got a call from my team who said, “They want you for Almost Famous in San Diego and on Broadway. They want Penny Lane to be you.”

Brunner: What went through your mind?

Pfeiffer: I was shocked. That call came out of nowhere, but it was very life-affirming. I thought, I must be doing something right. I kind of love that they let me go because it meant they looked elsewhere, couldn’t find anyone and came back to me.

Brunner: But what gave you that courage to reach out and let them know how you felt?

Pfeiffer: I just couldn’t stop thinking about how I should say something. And I had some encouragement from a really good friend who said, “You have to let them know how you feel and how important it is to you. Don’t go down without a fight.”

Brunner: What inspired you to perform?

Pfeiffer: Ever since I was old enough to recognize what I wanted to do, I wanted to perform. I started taking voice lessons when I was about 13 or 14 and went to a really great high school with a great theater program. I went to a theater summer camp when my parents and I lived in Cleveland. We did a skit and I just lit up and knew these were my people. I also played violin, loved music and knew that I was a musical person and had a good ear. I took any opportunity to go to theater camp or be in a play. I just loved performing. I didn’t have a lead in anything I did until I was a junior in college.

Brunner: What was your first lead?

Pfeiffer: I played Sandy in Grease at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle. That’s where I got my equity card. But I was open to any aspect of this art form. I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it. It wasn’t about being a leading lady.

Brunner: What would you like people to take away from Almost Famous?

Pfeiffer: My hope is that people can escape the world for a little while. Ultimately our show is a very intimate story about being together and connected. I’d love to think that when people come to the show they put their phone on airplane mode and get to connect with us and this story. And they feel lighter, brighter and have a jump in their step when they leave. Because that is how we feel.

Brunner: Is it possible to describe how singing makes you feel?

Pfeiffer: It is to some degree when I feel most like myself. When I’m singing music I love, like I am in this show, it feels like the most natural thing. Singing was my first love. And it’s so beautiful to do this thing I love for a living. I think, my art brought me here. That feels so in the world of Penny Lane. You follow your passion. You follow that thing you love and it will bring you where you need to be.