Some of the most fascinating villains are the ones who don’t think they’re villains at all. They are convinced they are doing the right thing, standing up for what they believe in. And sometimes, beneath it all, there is a little humanity waiting to emerge.
Jennifer Simard knows how to find that humanity. The three-time Tony Award nominee, who plays Mildred Layton in Broadway’s Schmigadoon!, understands that the secret to playing the joyful town’s most judgmental and disapproving resident is discovering what’s underneath and what makes her tick. “No one is the villain in their own story,” says Simard of the preacher’s wife who believes she holds the town’s moral compass. “In her mind, everything is for high stakes. She cares deeply about this town and she believes everything she is doing is for the best possible reasons.”
The Secret to Playing a Villain Who Thinks She’s the Hero
Simard’s approach makes Mildred deliciously and hilariously unfun, but also very human. Her motivation is based in her love for the community she believes she is protecting. In her showstopping patter song, “Tribulation,” Mildred warns the townspeople of the dangers threatening their way of life. She warns of a future filled with “wanton women having children out of wedlock,” “rowdy men using filthy language” and “the devil himself, dancing on your front porch.” For Mildred, this is cause for alarm.
“What I love about Mildred is her layers,” says Simard. “She is not a simple person.” In fact, Simard sees something Shakespearean in Mildred. “The best characters are the most complicated ones,” she says. “And I love Mildred because she is not just one note.”
Why Joining ‘Schmigadoon!’ Was a Full-Circle Moment
For Simard, finding that complexity begins with understanding a character’s pain. She sees a close relationship between acting and psychology, and believes that even the most outrageous characters must be rooted in something emotionally authentic. “Look at where their desire and pain is coming from,” she explains. In Mildred’s case, that pain comes from watching her beloved town become something she never imagined it could be. “Even if it’s the largest brushstroke that I’m using to indicate that, in a comedic sense, as long as it’s rooted in her real pain of the situation, then you’ll believe it as the audience member.”
The musical, based on the Apple TV+ series, follows Josh and Melissa, played by Alex Brightman and Sara Chase, a couple who stumble into a magical town where everyone is living in a musical. Filled with smart and sweet nods to Broadway’s Golden Age, the production features music, lyrics and a book by Cinco Paul and is directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Schmigadoon! won four Tony Awards in 2026, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.
Simard describes the sheer happiness of performing in a show that radiates joy from the stage, even on a difficult day. The show’s opening number has a way of lifting her spirits. She likes to peek through the curtain before her entrance and watching the dancers perform in their beautiful pastel colors. “It is impossible for me to stay in the mood I was in before the show started,” she says. “It’s infectious in the best possible way.”
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Simard has also been open about the importance of mental health, and believes performers don’t leave their personal lives behind when they walk onto the stage. “I am a full human being when I go to work and when I leave work, and so some days are better than others,” she says. She describes bringing whatever emotional place she’s in that day to her performance, even while making the same artistic choices. For her, the joy of Schmigadoon! is a reminder of theater’s ability to offer emotional nourishment and escape. “I know a lot of people need escapism,” she says.
For Simard, the casting was something of a full-circle moment. A few years ago, she participated in a reading of the stage adaptation of Schmigadoon! But her connection to the story went back even further. She had auditioned for the original television series, for the character Florence Menlove, the role of the sexually frustrated mayor’s wife originated in the series and on Broadway by “the brilliant and unmatchable Anne Harada,” as Simard describes her.
After watching the series, however, she realized another character might be a better fit. “I thought, I totally love this, and I get it. And actually, I think I’m more right for Mildred Layton,” she recalls. Mildred was originated on television by Kristin Chenoweth and brought to Broadway by Ana Gasteyer, who received a Tony Award nomination for her performance. When Gasteyer left the show for other opportunities, the producers contacted Simard. “They reached out to me again, and I said, ‘Absolutely, I’d love to come back into the family fold,’” she says. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, because I’m in such a joyful place in life.”
Finding Joy—and a Safe Place to Fail—on Broadway
Photo by Matthew MurphyPart of the pleasure of joining the company is working alongside performers she has known for years. She points to Becca Petersen, who she first worked with in Mean Girls. At the time, Petersen was in the ensemble and understudying leading roles. Simard played the adult woman whose character was, at times, Petersen’s character’s mother. Now, seeing Petersen in the ensemble and covering the lead role of Melissa is a particular pleasure. “To see her be this beautiful, leading lady, is something I just sit back and watch,” says Simard. “I have absolutely zero to do with it, but I have 100% pleasure and privilege of watching her do that.”
There’s also the joy of working with the show’s director/choreographer Gattelli. The two most recently collaborated on Death Becomes Her, where Simard played Helen Sharp. Reuniting for Schmigadoon! meant returning to a creative partnership where Simard already felt comfortable taking risks. “He is one of the kindest directors I’ve ever worked for, and innately makes you feel safe,” she says. “Safe to fail.” Simard also credits associate director Bethany Pettigrew and the creative and producing teams with helping nurture that environment. “Having supportive leadership makes a difference,” she says.
Related: How Jennifer Simard Revamped Goldie Hawn’s Role in the ‘Death Becomes Her’ Musical (Exclusive)
The Childhood Moment That Changed Everything
Simard’s own journey to becoming a celebrated comedic actress began early. When she was four years old, she watched a production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire. Seeing a little girl onstage playing the youngest daughter, she tugged on her mother’s shirt. “I don’t want to be up here. I want to be down there,” she recalls saying.
Although she occasionally considered other paths, including psychology, Simard says the theater always seemed to find its way back to her. “It chose me more than I chose it,” she says. “Every time I veered off the yellow brick road to explore another route, this career always guided me back.”
Her professional career received an important early boost from Boston actor David Benoit. While visiting New York, Simard ran into him, and he told her about an upcoming open call for Forbidden Broadway. He offered to put in a good word and help her get an audition. Simard accepted, and, as she recalls, “the rest is history.”
What she remembers most is what he gave to her. “He didn’t get me the job, but he opened the door,” she says. It’s a mantra she has carried into her own career. As a proud member of Actors’ Equity, Simard believes in helping the next generation of performers find their footing. “I really believe that my dues are basically putting the ladder over the side of the cruise ship, and reaching my hand down and pulling someone up,” she says. “That is what I believe in, and that’s what David did for me, and what I intend to do moving forward.”
Why Jennifer Simard Calls Herself a ‘Sad Clown’
She also credits her sense of humor to her mother, who was something of a class clown herself. Her mother once got into trouble for making her classmates laugh at Catholic school. When her mother’s best friend was asked by a nun why she was laughing, the friend explained that Simard’s mother was funny. The nun corrected her: “We don’t use the word funny. Use the word witty.”
Simard says she has always had a serious side running parallel to her comedic chops. “I’ve always been a sad clown,” she says. Her mother’s lesson was to find the funny side of life, even in difficult situations. “It helps me cope,” says Simard. She also recognizes how much that lesson has shaped her own outlook, helping her navigate life’s challenges while bringing laughter to others.
Asked what she would tell her four-year-old self, Simard returns to that idea. “Don’t take it all so seriously, kid,” she says. “It’s gonna be fine.” And why should audiences see Schmigadoon!? Her answer is: “You will be in a better place when you leave than when you came in.”
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