People said Krysta Rodriguez was “dramatic” like it was a bad thing. Now she’s showing the world just how dramatic she can be. Name-calling is one of the oldest power plays in the book: It’s just as cutting in the boardroom as it was on the playground, but since it never causes physical harm, it’s easily dismissed. And while we all know the "stick and stones" rhyme, anyone who’s been called a bitch or a slut (or stuck with any label she doesn’t identify with) understands just how damaging name-calling can be. In Mislabeled, Glamour talks to some of the most interesting women we know about the role name-calling or labels have played in their past—and how it’s shaped the women they are today.
Maybe you’ve seen Krysta Rodriguez on Broadway in 2006’s Spring Awakening, 2007’s revival of A Chorus Line, or 2008’s In the Heights. Or maybe you’ve seen her as aspiring musical theater star Ana Vargas in the second season of NBC’s beleaguered but beloved Broadway drama Smash. Or, more likely, you’ve seen her fully embody the seemingly un-embodiable Liza Minnelli in Netflix’s 2021 limited series Halston.
The 38-year-old actor and singer has also appeared in less outwardly theatrical projects, including ABC’s Quantico, but it’s clear she’s most at home in roles that allow her to showcase her full professional tool kit that includes singing and dancing—skills she’s sharpened and honed over the years but ones that often got her written off as “dramatic.”
Rodriguez, who grew up in Orange County, California, tells me over Zoom that she was the one whom people would turn around to look at during choir. “I was singing the loudest because I knew I could and it felt good,” she says. “Everyone else hated choir and I loved it. And then things would happen, and I would cry or I would get upset, or I would have a flair for drama a bit.”
Being labeled dramatic—or melodramatic—often happens to young girls who are deeply creative and possess talents that perhaps are outside the normal environment in which they exist. In the case of Rodriguez, who will soon be stepping into the role of Cinderella in Broadway’s ridiculously buzzy revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical comedy Into the Woods, it’s a stereotype that turned into a successful career.
Here she opens up about labels, not ever reading reviews, the hate-watch phenomenon of Smash, and more.
Glamour: You said you often got labeled “dramatic” as a kid. Tell me about that.
Krysta Rodriguez: From a young age, I was a performer, I wanted to perform, and I had the skill set pretty early on, but I was living in a world where that wasn’t valued. So I was labeled “dramatic.” I had a lot of feelings and I had no real outlet for them because I was in a noncreative environment. I was trying to figure out where to place all these emotions, and I was doing it in a way that was a little bit more openhearted, I think, than some other kids I was growing up with who were more sports-focused and competitive. What it did was that it put me on a quest to find the people who were like me, which I found much earlier than I think a lot of people do. And I feel really lucky for that. I felt like a fish out of water, and I was able to find the people who accepted that part of me. And as I channeled it into my artistic work, it leveled out a little bit.
As you started to have a bit of success and become more public facing, have you ever seen anything written about you or heard comments that gave you pause or made you uncomfortable?
A few years ago I was in a play where I was the only female. It was written by a woman, Theresa Rebeck, who is so great at creating complicated women who are getting their hands just as dirty as the men, which is why I’m always drawn to her characters. So I was doing this role, which was a consultant to the male character, who was a very temperamental chef who is running his business into the ground.
And of course we butt heads; that’s the fodder for drama. The audience would always take his side because he was a temperamental and charismatic guy, and I’m getting in there trying to ruin his creativity. Whereas I saw the character as someone who’s trying to make solutions for an otherwise unsustainable situation. And audiences would come to me and say, “Oh, I hated your character. Oh my God. She was so annoying.” That would happen a lot. And one time I was doing an interview and the interviewer said, “Well, we know [your character] Emily is going to be bossy from the second she comes in, based on what she's wearing.” And I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, she’s wearing high heels.” I really blanched and I said, “Okay, let’s unpack that for a second.”
So that actually leads very well into the next question, which is how you cope with professional criticism.
I’ve had to learn so many different coping mechanisms for this, and a lot of it is trial and error. And one of those things is I don’t read reviews.
Ever?
I don’t read comments. I don’t read any reviews. No. Especially with theater, the review comes out, and then theoretically, you’re doing the show for another year. So if there is somebody who specifically says something that I can replay in my head every time I get to that part that they didn't like, I won’t survive. I’ve actually started not watching my performances either, once I started doing television and film, because I had no control over the final product. I can’t control what the edit is and what scenes they took out or what take they use.
You have to find the people you trust to be your sounding boards. And find those people early, keep them close to you. And if they’re telling you that there’s something you’re leaving on the table or that you could do better, take that in, as hard as that might be, and move forward with it. If it’s a thousand people on the internet telling you something, move on.
We love to ask actors we interview this question: Has there ever been a role that you really wanted and it ended up going to someone else?
Oh yeah. There was a show that’s still on the air [Amazon Prime’s sci-fi comedy-drama] Upload. I was very far in the running for that. At the time I was tired of being the “eye roller” and wanted to play a more complex character, especially on television. And it just felt like this was the one, this was going to be the thing. And it didn’t happen. For months I thought about that. This was my part. But it wasn’t. And it’s fine. I ended up doing a show on Netflix called Daybreak, playing a witch, which I was like, “Ooh, this feels weird.” And I ended up having the time of my life, literally getting myself filthy and dirty, and throwing myself into physical comedy and it really healed me in a way that I was so grateful for.
What do you wear when you want to feel your most confident?
I definitely like to experiment. I think where I feel sometimes the most confident is in my room. I have a room dedicated to getting ready. I designed it. I want to feel creative in it. And depending on the day, the weather, how I’m feeling, what I’m doing, I choose who I want to be that day. Also, eight years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and so I went through what felt like an attack of my body and my femininity and that led me to start a blog. My platform was feeling good and looking beautiful during cancer, which could seem very trite but it was what got me through what I was going through—buying crazy wigs and trying out temporary tattoos and trying new clothes that made me feel powerful.
What are some things you do when you need to take a moment and unwind? Any routines or habits that you rely on for sleep?
I don’t drink caffeine. I never have. And so sleep and meditation are two huge parts of my reset. And if I’m doing a show, I need a place to sleep in between shows or preshow. I need a nap almost every day. I also love getting a facial, getting a massage, taking a walk around Central Park with friends.
After a particularly productive day, are there any low-stakes treats that you enjoy?
Well, I love television. It’s just such a treat to run home and—before all the stuff is off my shoulders—be ready to watch. Right now I’m in a phase of über-health because I’m starting a Broadway show, which needs a lot of energy, but normally one of my favorite things to do is meet up with my best friend who makes a killer martini and sit on his beautiful deck and look out into the city.
How are you feeling about entering Into the Woods? People are obsessing over this revival.
I’m going to be playing Cinderella, which is not something I normally thought I would do. I wasn’t exposed to that show as a kid. I saw it at [New York’s] City Center when it was just the concert version a few months ago and I really resonated with Cinderella. There was something about her, in this production, she’s particularly…not messy but comfortable in her discomfort. She’s having to make big decisions. She’s the one who changes the most within the show.
I need to ask about NBC’s Smash, which I know so many people loved to hate, but it’s such a fun series that had a large resurgence during COVID. What are your feelings about that show now?
It was my very first TV show, so there was a learning curve. And [I] was coming in as a cast addition during a transitional time. The ratings were not good, and they pulled the show really quickly. We were still filming it when we knew this was going down. So that’s [an odd] experience, to be on a show that isn’t happening. And you’re working 17 hours a day, trying to create a great product that you know people are just going to tear apart, even if it’s good or not. It wasn’t until I did a Broadway show right after that, people would come up to me and say, “We loved Smash.” And I was like, “Really?” And then people kept saying that they loved it, and not a day went by that people didn’t say it. And still 10 years later, it’s the most common thing people talk about: “I miss Smash. I was the one who loved Smash.”
I’m proud to be a part of it. I love that I was a part of not only television history in some ways but bringing theater to America and to the world. And I am proud of it. And we can look back on it with some chuckles, but it was tough to be sort of the punching bag of television.
