Badia Farha plays many roles in her life, including wife, mother, actor, and singer, so taking on multiple characters in the recent Joe Iconis off-Broadway musical, Broadway Bounty Hunter, was a case of art mimicking life. Farha played Sienna, Madam, and others, as well as opening the show with her powerful pipes singing “Woman of a Certain Age”.
I recently spoke with Farha (Little Shop of Horrors and Rent national tours) about performing in Broadway Bounty Hunter, being part of the Joe Iconis family, self-care, and how being an NFL player is just like being a Broadway actor.
How would you describe Broadway Bounty Hunter?
It’s a show about empowering people who have been counted out. Annie, who is the focal point of the show, is a “woman of a certain age”. With men, they get older, they get “sophisticated”, they get “sexy”. What are women who get older? It becomes, “You’re too old”. But here you have a woman, a strong woman, a bad-ass woman, a woman who is of a certain age who is the lead of the show.
What is the show saying about ageism and misogyny?
No matter how old you get, you’re still worth something. People count you out when you get older. But as you get older, you get more experience. Annie comes in and she’s like, “I don’t need anybody to tell me I can’t stand on the stage and just be who I am”. It’s a relevant storyline for the times that we’re in right now. As a culture, women are having this new wave of empowerment.
I open the show with the first song, “Woman Of A Certain Age”. When I sing that song, I feel that sense of urgency and the poignancy of it. It talks about this woman who seems down on her luck but don’t count out a woman of a certain age. As the show goes on, they see that Annie gets stronger and more refined. You’re rooting for her by the end of the show.
What does it mean to be part of the Joe Iconis family?
It means so much because Joe and I have known each other and been working together since college. The smart thing about Joe is that he surrounds himself with really talented people who he believes in and believe in him, as well. He creates a comfortable environment for people to come in and be themselves. Everybody has some kind of a special quirkiness that makes them stand out and Joe is really good at pulling out the best in people.
I’ve always felt that I could truly be myself working with Joe. He gets me as an artist and he knows that whatever material he gives me, I’m going to take care of it and I’m going to bring my authentic self to it. And that’s usually what you want as an artist, to be able to express your authentic self.
That’s what I think people feel in the Joe Iconis family, they know it’s a mutual thing where everybody feels very comfortable in being their authentic selves. It’s a rare thing. I would work with him forever. I literally grabbed a hold of him and I’m never letting go. It is a done deal.
What does it mean to you to be in a cast full of POC actors?
The entire cast is diverse. Our band is half female, half male. We have female producers. The entire experience from the top to the bottom shows diversity and to be a part of that makes me feel empowered. It gives me the room to breathe and it gives me the room to trust myself.
I love being a part of creating something that people don’t expect. They get a show with R & B music. They get a show with a diverse cast and they get a show with everybody dancing and just living their best lives. When you know what to expect, you don’t listen to the same way.
You always have to keep people on their toes. Right before the intermission is a shocker and then the second half of the show takes you somewhere else. I think the audiences understand pretty early that they just have to kind of ride the roller coaster which is so much fun.
How do you maintain your instrument and your physical being during an eight-show a week performance schedule.
I have two kids, Alanna Rose and Creya Rae. They are seven and eight years old, so I try to be conscious of not raising my voice. I get home late and I go to bed late so I have to make sure that I get enough sleep. Another thing is working out and going to the gym. I go to the gym about three or four times a week but I stretch every day every morning and every night to keep my body limber and all the vessels open. I also have a phenomenal voice teacher named Susan Eichhorn Young ( https://susaneichhornyoung.com/ ). One thing about Joe’s music is that it’s very demanding, you have to be on top of your game. I also changed some lifestyle stuff, like not drinking alcohol, not drinking coffee. It’s such a physical show, I don’t want to be on stage bloated or you know, burping all over, so I do a good job of eating far enough in advance for the show so that my body feels light and I’m able to move around.
My husband is a retired NFL player [Al Singleton]. The discipline that I’ve seen him take as a professional level athlete has helped me train my mind to be the same kind of way. You don’t get to that level playing around. It’s a lifestyle. His entire time when he is playing completely revolves around the work.
There seems to be this gap of understanding, where people can be critical of actors needing to have healthy boundaries, such as being unable to do the stage door on a given night or giving somebody a backstage tour in order to preserve your energy.
They come and they see you being on and then they expect you to be on. Sometimes you have to take time for yourself, take time to breathe. Doing eight shows a week, there was a lot of things that I missed, birthday parties, eating with my kids.
How does your husband being a professional athlete help him understand your work as an actors?
What I love about it is the fact that he understands the idea of following your dreams, following your passion. I’m lucky because we both have our free spirits and we both understand following your passion. I’m so lucky to have someone in my corner who gets it.
How has being a mom influenced your work?
Being a mom to me is my best work. I love that I’m able to let them find what they are passionate about. I also love that they get to experience what it is that I’m doing and living my purpose for, I love that they are around to see it and be a part of it.
It’s hard sometimes when I have jobs and I have to go away. But I told myself, I’m not the only person that has to do this. I bring them along as much as I can, but this is what I’ve chosen to do with my life. I have a bandleader that said to me when I was pregnant with my oldest, you live your life and you just bring your kids along.
Why do you think theater matters?
Because it’s an interactive experience. It’s important to use your imagination and to experience things firsthand and to be connected with your spirit and your soul and your energy. Our devices are so cold. The people need to put the computer down and come on out. I want to sit with somebody in the theater and watch people perform live. You got to feed your soul, you got to have human interaction.
To find out more about Badia, you can visit her website https://badiafarha.com/ and you can follow her on social media @badiafarha.
Best,
Dr. Drama