Lizzy McAlpine to make Broadway debut in 'Floyd Collins'

The Montgomery County native singer will play the sister of the titular cave explorer when the production opens in April.

Lizzy McAlpine will make her Broadway debut in an upcoming production of the musical 'Floyd Collins,' playing the titular cave explorer's sister.
Efren Landaos/Sipa USA

Lizzy McAlpine is heading to Broadway.

The Montgomery County singer has been cast in an upcoming production of the musical "Floyd Collins," which begins previews on March 27 and opens on April 21 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Deadline reported. This show will be McAlpine's Broadway debut.


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"Floyd Collins" is based on the true story of a cave explorer by the same name, who went spelunking in 1925 in an area now part of Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park. He hoped to establish Sand Cave as a tourist attraction, but instead found himself trapped 200 feet underground. The musical made its world premiere in Philadelphia at the American Music Theater Festival in 1994, then ran for 25 performances at the Off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons in 1996.

"Alone but for sporadic contact with the outside world, including his brother Homer, Floyd fights for his sanity – and, ultimately, his life – as the rescue effort above explodes into the first genuine media circus," the show's synopsis reads. 

Jeremy Jordan — who is currently starring in Broadway's "The Great Gatsby" and was previously nominated for a Tony Award for "Newsies" — will play the titular role, Broadway News reported. Jason Gotay (who made his Broadway debut in "Bring It On" in 2012) will play Homer, and McAlpine will play Floyd's sister Nellie Collins. The musical will be directed by Tina Landau, who wrote the musical’s book, with music and lyrics by Adam Guettel — plus additional lyrics by Landau. Tickets for the show go on sale Thursday, Dec. 12.

"Guys this show and this cast are everything to me I’m freaking out I can’t wait," McAlpine wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

McAlpine, 25, grew up in Narberth and graduated from Lower Merion High School in 2018. She went on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she began recording and releasing music. A number of covers and original songs posted to her TikTok account in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic helped propel her to national fame. 

She released her debut album "Give Me a Minute" in 2020, and her second album, "Five Seconds Flat," in 2022. "Five Seconds Flat" helped bring her into the mainstream. In particular, the single "ceilings" took off on TikTok last year, when it became the soundtrack to a popular trend. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, and the official music video has been viewed 25 million times on Youtube. 

McAlpine released her third studio album, "Older," in April and an accompanying documentary, "Older: The Making of the Album," in September. She played two homecoming shows at The Met Philadelphia in June as part of "The Older Tour 2024." 


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