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Rebecca Robbins Singer. Actress. Cancer Survivor by Marialena Rago
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photos by Mark Bradley Miller and Dane Wagner
ebecca Robbins is an honorary Philly girl. Hailing from West Virginia, Robbins got her first taste of Philly when she was in college at The Curtis Institute of Music and has not left since. She also prides herself on being a massive Eagles fan, naming David Akers as one of her favorite players. One thing Robbins hopes to do in the future is sing the national anthem for the team. “‘I’ve made it one of my goals,” Robbins says. “Broadway was always one, but that’s really my goal.” Robbins did accomplish her goal of being on Broadway. She made her debut in A Tale of Two Cities. “I was with that production for five years before [heading to Broadway].” How Robbins was cast in the production was a surprise to her. She found out through an online article. But how she got the role wasn’t important. She was living her dream. “Opening night is the best thing ever. It all felt so surreal.”
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| rowhome magazine | April / May / June 2017
When she is not at home in Drexel Hill, she is touring or in New York. Robbins just finished touring with the North America cast of The Phantom of the Opera where she played the Confidante/Madame Firmin and understudying the role of Carlotta Giudicelli. She’s currently in her 14th Walnut Street Theatre production, Jerry’s Girls, a review of Jerry Herman’s music. When asked why she keeps coming back to do shows here and not New York, she says it’s the level of talent and the community. “Outside of NY, Philly is the best theatre community.” Though Robbins has had a successful career on stage, she has had her struggles. Four months after making her Broadway debut, she was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The illness not only prevented her from performing, but had the potential to stop her from singing altogether. The cancer was on the side of her neck. “Right
next to my voice,” Robbins says. “I had surgery and got rid of the lymph nodes. At that point, I was not doing a show so we came down to Penn. That is when I moved from NY to Philly.” After months of treatment, radiation and chemotherapy, Robbins can now say she is cancer free. “I am totally cleared. After five years. I hit my cleared two years ago.” She is now living her second chance at life by doing the thing she loves most – performing. After Jerry’s Girls, Robbins will take on the role of Florence Foster Jenkins in the play Souvenir. Robbins isn’t afraid of living up to the performance of Meryl Streep who played Jenkins in a recent film. She is prepared thanks to her training at Curtis. “I am glad I went to Curtis because in order to sing badly, you need to sing well.” You can catch Jerry’s Girls with Rebecca until July 2nd at Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio on 3. gohomephilly.com