Will Sabrina Carpenter Ever Come Back to Broadway?

by Chris Peterson

Did you know that Sabrina Carpenter could have perhaps been a Broadway star?

No, really. She was cast as Cady Heron in Mean Girls, took her bows at the August Wilson Theatre, and everything. But then, just two performances in, the lights went out. COVID happened. The world hit pause. Broadway shuttered. And Mean Girls, like so many shows, never reopened.

It is one of those blink-and-you-missed-it stories that theatre people remember with a little pang. Because this wasn’t some publicity stunt or flavor-of-the-month casting gimmick. This was a young artist—talented, trained, and hungry—finally getting her Broadway debut. She showed up. She did the work. And then it all vanished. It feels unfinished. Because it was.

Fast forward to now, and Sabrina Carpenter is having a full-on pop star moment. Not a maybe. Not a “one to watch.” An actual, undeniable, generation-defining pop star moment. She opened for Taylor Swift. She headlined Coachella. Her tour is a full-on theatrical experience. She is funny, sharp, and knows exactly who she is. And more than anything, she knows how to perform. Not just sing. Perform. With a wink, a twirl, a well-timed raise of the eyebrow that could knock you out from the balcony.

Theatricality runs through her veins. And while her music videos and stage shows are certainly feeding that part of her artistry, there is still something about the unfinished business of Broadway that lingers.

She wanted to be there. That matters. Sabrina Carpenter was not a name pulled from a hat by producers desperate to fill seats. She came up in musical theatre. She trained. She understands character work. She knows what it means to tell a story through song.

Reneé Rapp, Sabrina Carpenter, and Olivia Kaufmann in Mean Girls

And the cruel twist of it all is that she did. For two performances. And then never again. So now I keep wondering—will she come back?

Because Broadway could use her. And not just for the ticket sales, although let’s be real, the box office would thank her. Broadway could use her energy. Her wit. Her confidence. There is a whole wave of young people who would follow Sabrina Carpenter straight into a theatre and maybe fall in love with live performance for the first time.

Sabrina Carpenter is not just a pop star. She is a performer. And she has the bones of a Broadway leading lady.

Two nights on Broadway is not a full run. It is not a fair shot. It is a glimpse. What kind of magic could she bring to a role that let her belt, act, and charm her way across a stage with a full house hanging on every word?

So the question stands. Will Sabrina Carpenter ever come back to Broadway? I hope so. Because I still believe she is a Broadway star. She just hasn’t had the run yet.