And I get a chance to clap back onstage, because in some parts of the show you can do some improv. I know they’re booing the character and not me. She’s trying to kill this girl, so it is absolutely hilarious. I’m being mean to such a sweet girl onstage. How does that feel for you to be booed onstage? In panto, you can heckle people, you can boo them or you can cheer. It’s interactive musical theater, and most of the shows that I’ve done in the past, say like “Chicago” the musical or “The Color Purple,” people clap, people laugh when you say something funny. When I was asked to do this, I was curious about panto. It keeps my chops going and it’s just another way of expression. I have a theater background and so I just love doing theater - like every other year or so being involved in a production. Last week Williams was revealed to be the Butterfly character, at one point saying on the show the anonymity of performing in costume “helped take away the insecurities I have about my voice.”
She found healing in an unlikely place: “The Masked Singer,” the competition show where disguised celebrities perform in elaborate costumes. This year, Williams decided to lay low for the most part, saying, “I’m going to take time off and work on me so that I can get back out here and give the best of me and not an empty me.” Last December, she announced she was taking a leave of absence from her role as Erzulie in the Broadway musical “Once on This Island,” under doctor’s orders. Months after reuniting with Destiny’s Child for Beyoncé’s Coachella performance in 2018, she checked into a mental health facility. She took on Broadway roles in “Aida” and “Chicago” and toured with productions of “The Color Purple” and “Fela!”īut in recent years, Williams revealed that she has struggled with severe depression since she was a teen. She began carving out her solo career before the group disbanded in 2005, eventually releasing several hit gospel albums. Singer Michelle Williams rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of R&B girl group Destiny’s Child.