Jessie Mueller quotes:

White Christmas' is one of my favorite movies, so I've always just had a love for that kind of golden era musical.

I went to Syracuse University.

My first professional gig was 'Once Upon a Mattress' at the Drury Lane Oakbrook... I was in the ensemble. I was one of the ladies in waiting, and I covered Winnifred.

Growing up, I never felt like the pretty girl.

My dad listened to a lot of James Taylor when I was growing up. We had a couple of his cassettes in the car, and we'd go on a lot of long family car trips. It was either strange musicals or James Taylor - or Whitney Houston. It was quite the combination there.

Some of the best actors think they're terrible; that's what keeps you connected to a vulnerability that makes it possible for people to empathize with you.

I always thought moving to New York would mean starting over in theater, because I had great work in Chicago and didn't want to become a waitress here.

Directors didn't know what to do with me in college. I didn't really sound like a belter. I didn't look like a soprano. But in New York, I was in the right place at the right time, where my unusualness fit the bill.

I always loved playing the sidekick, and that's what I expected - I didn't think I was pretty enough or diva enough to play the lead.