NEED TO KNOW
- Jordan Litz performed two Broadway shows on Sunday, Nov. 2 after running the N.Y.C. Marathon.
- The actor joined the Broadway cast of Wicked as Fiyero in May 2023
- “Thank you all for helping me make this crazy dream come true,” Litz said
Before he was dancing through life, Jordan Litz was running through the streets of New York City alongside 55,000 other people.
The 37-year-old Broadway actor completed the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 2, finishing the 26.2 miles trek through all five boroughs in just 3:40:53 before taking the stage as Fiyero in Wicked‘s 2 p.m. matinee and 7 p.m. evening performances.
“Yesterday, I felt all the love on the road and on the stage,” Litz wrote on Instagram on Monday. “So many people lifted me up and supported me through one of the most challenging and rewarding days I’ve ever lived.”
“There were smiles, there were struggles, there were hugs and there were tears,” he added. “Thank you all for helping me make this crazy dream come true.”
Litz ran for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a leading nonprofit that harnesses the power and passion of the theater community to help those in need. Through audience donations and star-studded events, the organization has raised hundreds of millions each year to provide lifesaving medication, housing and hope to those who need it most.
Prior to making it to the starting line on Sunday, Litz made headlines thanks to profiles in local news media and The New York Times. He was even referenced on Saturday Night Live during the NBC show’s “Weekend Update” segment.
“Broadway star Jordan Litz announced that he will be running in tomorrow’s New York City Marathon then later star in two performances of Wicked — and then after that, die,” Colin Jost joked.
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While Litz didn’t die, training for the grueling marathon while performing eight shows a week in one of the most physically demanding shows on Broadway certainly sounds like it could have knocked an amateur out. But Litz, a former swimmer who qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials, is used to driving himself to the edge.
“I’m crazy,” he told NBC New York. “I’ve always been that kind of person, even when you asked my college teammates when I was a swimmer, I just loved to grind, and I loved to beat up my body and push it to the limits. So a marathon seemed like the logical next step for that kind of thing.”
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And turns out, testing his physical endurance off-stage has made Litz see his time on-stage in a new light.
“I’ve done the show in every condition possible, with my knee hurting, my ankle hurting, my voice hurting… ” he said. “It has made the show not scary, in that, ‘Oh my gosh, I just ran 22 miles. All I have to do now is play Fiyero on Broadway.’ That seems so easy compared to what I just did. So from a mental standpoint, I feel like I can conquer the world because of all this training.”
And now that he’s past the finish line, he can focus on the next challenge ahead of him. His wife, Julie — whom he met while they were both performers at Disney World — is pregnant with their second child, due this December.
“There will never be adequate words to describe how proud I am of this man,” she wrote on Instagram Monday, sharing a photo of her and their 2-year-old daughter, Greta, with Litz at the finish line. “An entire marathon. Two Wicked shows. One day. We are the luckiest girls in the world to be yours. YOU DID IT!!!! ❤️🏅”
Fans can catch Litz in Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City. Tickets are now on sale.
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