Photo: courtesy Caissie Levy
For the vast majority of 5-year-old Izaiah’s life, mommy has always been Elsa of Arendelle.
Caissie Levy, who originated the role of the snow queen in theBroadway musicalFrozen, gave birth to son Izaiah in February 2016, a year and a half before the stage adaptation of the hit Disney film began its out-of-town tryout in Colorado ahead of its New York City opening.
“Izaiah has only known me as Elsa,” Levy, 40, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “To be a mom for the first time and have those two things converge at the same time was just wild.”
The theater has turned into Izaiah’s second home. In fact, when Levy was pregnant, she starred in Off-Broadway’sFirst Daughter Suiteuntil she was about five-and-a-half months along — and Izaiah’s first kick was felt while the Broadway actress was on stage.
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courtesy Caissie Levy
It’s no surprise that Izaiah’s artistic parents — Levy is married to actor and composerDavid Reiser— have rubbed off on him.
“He’s very into art and drawing, and he still draws pictures of me in my costume and talks about being backstage,” Levy explains, adding that Izaiah had been to the show multiple times throughout her two-year Broadway run and even got to watch from the wings as she sang the musical’s iconic number"Let It Go."
“To see his face. I mean, it made me so emotional to try to sing that song when I knew he wasright therewatching me,” she says. “How special it was that I got to perform that for him.”
Levy leftFrozena month before thecoronavirus pandemicswept the United States and shut down Broadway houses in March for over a year. Though her career was put on pause — she was just one day from beginning performances in her next project, the Broadway revival ofCaroline, or Change— quarantine opened a new door for their family.
“We feel like she’s always been here,” Levy says of their new addition, adding that their quality time with Talulah has been “delicious.”
Alexa Drew Photography
This week, Levy is back to work — playing a Jewish mother inCaroline, or Change, a role she says she very much relates to — and is excited to begin performances Friday at Studio 54.
Sharing the stage with the child actors who alternate the role of her stepson has new meaning as a mother of two.
When her two children do grow up, Levy says she would be okay with them following in her footsteps as a performer, so long as they’re happy. “I think the only thing I really hope for my kids is that they feel good about themselves, like themselves and have fun. So if that ends up leading them into somewhere in the arts — on stage, backstage, music, visual art — I’m all for it.”
“I’m grateful my parents let me be who I was,” she adds, “and I just want to do that for my kids.”
source: people.com
