If you grew up with The Little Mermaid sheets on your twin bed or pretended your fork was a dinglehopper as you ran it through your hair, you’ll be excited to hear that Jodi Benson is going to make Rochester her home this January and February. Benson, best known as the voice of Ariel in the 1989 Disney animated film, has enjoyed a long career as a voice actor. Her other memorable characters include Barbie in the Toy Story franchise, Weebo in Flubber, and Thumbelina.
Benson jokes, “I came out of the womb singing!” but adds that she had no formal training until college. “I was at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, for about a year and a quarter. I auditioned for a project during my Christmas break, and the person broke her ankle and they called me. I was in LA within two weeks and have been going ever since.”
For those of us who have watched The Little Mermaid a hundred times, we know that it was Benson’s voice that not only gave life to the movie but also helped shape an entire era of Disney animation known as the Disney Renaissance. But at the time, no one knew how big the movie would become, including Benson.
“I got the call that they wanted to send me on a press tour, twenty-two cities in twenty days,” Benson recalls. “I was shocked. They said that they were changing things up and they were going to reveal who I was. It was the second Golden Age of animation and the Renaissance, changing the face of animation forever, and we just had no idea. It was just an incredible, wonderful surprise.”
Not a stranger to the Broadway stage, Benson received a 1992 Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical for her role as Polly Baker in Crazy For You. “We had an amazing cast, an amazing creative team, and an amazing story,” she remembers. “And a beautiful journey with the Tonys and the Kennedy Center Honors. And just everything about it was really lovely.”
Here in Rochester, Benson takes on the role of Mama Rose, the ultimate show business mother, in Gypsy. Based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, this great American musical is set in the 1920s and ’30s, featuring a score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim that includes hits like “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “Let Me Entertain You.”
Eric Vaughn Johnson, executive director of OFC Creations, recalls seeing an ad for Jodi Benson starring in a concert version of Gypsy at a theater in Florida. He was unable to make it to the limited run performances and had the idea to bring Benson to Rochester as a part of the Broadway in Brighton series. Once he saw videos of Benson’s daughter Delaney Benson in the role of daughter Louise, it was clear that they would both be invited to reprise their roles as a mother and daughter duo.
Benson recently got to see her daughter take on the role of Ariel onstage, describing the experience as surreal and incredible. She is excited to perform with Delaney here in Rochester. “Watching the energy she brings into rehearsal, how she’s such a team player and how she wants to help everybody and be there for them and be supportive. I just love it when I get to work with her. I think we’re the first and only mother daughter that has ever done the show. We’re going to have a blast!”
Johnson and husband Hunter Ekberg, director of theatrical experiences, put much care into planning this season’s lineup. “We want Rochester audiences to have incredibly special experiences, and we are always thinking about how we can make our shows more unique and special.”
OFC Creations is a home away from home for many local theater kids. When I asked Benson if she had any advice for the kids who aspire to land on a Broadway stage one day, she was ready with words of wisdom. “I think the most important thing is to pursue whatever it is that you are passionate about and that you have a natural gift set for. So if someone has a natural gift set for singing, dancing, and acting, I always say, go for it in whatever capacity that is. There are many ways to have a very fulfilling career that don’t necessarily land on the island of Manhattan. There are many ways to share your gifts and your talents, and I’ve learned that you can have amazing experiences in a variety of different locations and different theaters. It’s really about the piece that you’re sharing, the story you’re telling and the people that you’re telling the story with that make it magical. Does it necessarily have to be on Broadway? If it is, that’s amazing too, but there are just a lot of different avenues to take.”
Benson has been working with Disney for thirty-seven years now and is still consistently busy in the studio and with live events like narrating the Candlelight Processional at Disney World’s EPCOT. We are very lucky that she has decided to make Rochester part of her world this winter. So put down your whozits, whatzits, and thingamabobs and get your tickets before this show is sold out! Performances of Gypsy run January 30 to February 16 at OFC Creations Theatre in Brighton. For more information, visit ofccreations.com/gypsy.
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of (585).
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