New Jersey’s Olympic champ Laurie Hernandez leaps to Broadway

New Jersey Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez is making her Broadway debut.

The Old Bridge native joins the cast of the hit musical, & Juliet starting March 17.

Hernandez continues her post-Olympics rise from gymnastics to dance, acting, and theater.

New Jersey’s own Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez has announced another big milestone that fans are excited about.

From Old Bridge to Olympic gold: a Jersey success story

Hernandez grew up in Old Bridge and did gymnastics training in Monmouth County before rocketing to fame in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

At 16, Hernandez competed with the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team and won a team gold medal, as well as an individual silver medal on the balance beam.

From Olympic podium to pop culture spotlight

Fresh off her Rio victories, the gymnast then went straight to Dancing with the Stars Season 23.

Along with partner Val Chmerkovskiy, Hernandez was the youngest to win a Mirrorball Trophy on the reality dance competition.

She has since studied drama at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Laurie Hernandez makes her Broadway debut in “& Juliet”

Now, Laurie Hernandez is making her debut on Broadway as one of the dancers in & Juliet.

Her run in the hit musical begins March 17. Hernandez will be in the show's ensemble as Charmion.

It's the same dancing role in which TikTok star Charli D'Amelio debuted on Broadway, in a run that stretched from 2024 to last year.

The show has featured other celebrities in its cast as well, including Joey Fatone.

The popular "what if" musical take on the classic Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet story officially opened on Broadway on Nov. 17, 2022.

It "reimagines Juliet's story with hits from Max Martin's songbook."

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