On November 25, The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Glee actress NeNe Leakes made her debut as the wicked stepmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Broadway for its final run. (It will end on January 3 after two years.) The reality star took over Sherri Shepherd’s role.

Backstage at the show, Hot 97’s TT Torrez spoke with NeNe about the new venture, who revealed it was a little overwhelming at first.

“It was sort of like a blur to me,” NeNe said to TT. “We’ve been rehearsing for a really long time. I love theater, but this was a new experience. I was kind of thrown into a cast that was already existing, so I had to come out and co-exist with them.”

Marisa Mendez

However, the cast – which includes actress Keke Palmer as Cinderella – were more than helpful in helping ease NeNe in.

“They all were amazing, they all had my back, they all were right there for me pushing me and cheering me on.”

It was definitely a challenge, as the wicked stepmother has the most lines of all the characters, but after 3 weeks of rehearsing, NeNe says she got it down pact. Check out what else NeNe had to say in the full interview below!

Source: Hot 97