Donning a corset and fishnet tights, the dancer was tossed between multiple men on stage at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where audiences are transported to the gritty Parisian underground at the turn of the 20th century. Hurder’s performance as one of the nightclub’s bohemian inhabitants earned her a Tony Award nomination and critical acclaim.
The actress’s final performance on Feb. 20 was particularly heightened. About two weeks earlier, she underwent a D&C (dilation and curettage) procedure after miscarrying in her first trimester.
Avery Brunkus
Despite the physical demands of playing Nini, Hurder had no intention of leavingMoulin Rouge!before her contract was up — until she and her husband, fellow actorClyde Alves, learned on New Year’s Day they were expecting their second child. The two share 8-year-old son Hudson.
“I found out on my 40th birthday. I panicked becauseMoulin Rouge!is not the kind of show that you would be the most comfortable getting pregnant in,” she says, noting the show’s form-fitting costumes and corsets as well as its athletic choreography factored into the decision to plan her exit.
“I knew that I had to immediately tell my producers, which was extremely hard for me because this is such a sacred moment. Usually, you want to have those magical few weeks, just you and your partner.”
“I was leaving for something so beautiful, so wonderful; it was such a dream,” she says. “The one thing that was killing me is that no one knew, and I felt they all thought I was leaving because, in my mind, I was weak.”
“You go almost dead inside,” Hurder explains. “I’ve been a mother, and you still go to that place. You start planning your life.” Then, she says, “It just got taken away. And you think, ‘Now what?’ I just had to leave my job, and you don’t get that back.”
At that point, she still had a few performances left atMoulin Rouge!; however, her exit was already in place at a time when Broadway is still recovering from the monumental18-month shutdowndue to thecoronavirus pandemic.
“I immediately had to decide what I was going to do. And it’s just so stressful because I have to perform in this role that is so exposing in every single way,” she continues. “The fact that I had been performing with something dead inside me for three weeks really messed me up.”
Clyde Alves/Instagram
“This is so big. But being very honest, I broke down when they announced it because I’m like, I should be so laid out on the couch, 39 weeks pregnant,” she says candidly. “It made me want to run.”
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When asked about her new starring role on Broadway, she says the exact same words: “I’m terrified.” She adds, “I’m scared because I love it.”
Still, she says she’ll continue putting her faith in something greater. “We manifest our lives, and I’m like, ‘Girl, you did it.’ And that’s the one thing about the universe. You cannot mess with its timing. It won’t allow you to. Even when you try to make something happen when you want it to happen, it’s never gonna happen because it’s divine timing. And that’s why it’s comforting in a way that I’m like, ‘I trust this.’ "
After all, she says, “It is so common. It’s one in four. Nobody talks about it because, what, it’s not happy? Cause it’s not positive? This is so real, and so many women are part of this sad club. But if I can use my little, tiny voice on social media to maybe help women who feel like they can’t talk about it, talk about it, that to me is success.”
“It’s not getting another Broadway show,” she adds. “It’s helping others.”
source: people.com
