Heather Orth was raised on a strict diet of 1980s mega-musicals, which explains a lot. She had a tumultuous relationship with theatre throughout her teens, breaking up with it for what she thought was the last time after high school. The next several years were spent working a variety of normal-person jobs, from Whole Foods checker to customer service representative at a beloved children’s publishing company, until — during a bout of prolonged unemployment — her mother convinced her to spend six weeks of her summer enrolled in Notre Dame de Namur University’s Music Theatre Conservatory. Lightning struck, angels sang, etc, etc, and Heather’s been running around on stages again ever since. In September of 2011, at 27 years of age, she got to perform what is now her very favorite role: Rose in Gypsy. This production led to her snagging the part again, this time at a real, honest-to-goodness “we pay you to do this” theatre company, which in turn put her in the Equity Membership Candidate program. She kind of can’t believe how fortunate she is that this has become her life.