Crystal Wise
Erica Ludwig says her fascination for musical theater began at a young age after watching the musical movies “Grease” and “The Sound of Music.” To Ludwig, musicals embodied three of her favorite things: singing, acting, and performing. This is a fitting backstory for Ludwig, who is currently the content and communications manager for Performing Arts Fort Worth, Inc. at Bass Performance Hall. Theater fandom aside, Ludwig says she owes a lot of who she is today to her late mother, Renee, who lost her battle with breast cancer when Ludwig was only 8 years old. As Ludwig puts it, her mother’s spirit has been a guiding light to her on her professional journey and beyond.
“I started in the industry six years ago in May, and the first day that I started was the anniversary of my mom’s passing,” Ludwig says with a glint of nostalgia in her eyes. “Most people would look at this date and say, ‘Oh that’s so morbid,’ but to me, it was almost like a confirmation that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.”
Crystal Wise
But, before embarking on her current career working behind the scenes in a world-renowned theater, Ludwig was very much about being on stage and in the spotlight. In fact, she says she couldn’t wait to dip her toe into the theater world after she watched her older brother perform in the musical “Brigadoon.” “The very next year I joined theater in eighth grade and started doing shows at my little, tiny private Christian school in the area,” she says.
For her first performance, Ludwig says she played a chorus girl with a small speaking part in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.” It’s funny, too, because I used to be scared of public speaking, and after I started doing theater, that fear went away.”
It wouldn’t be until Ludwig attended college at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that she said her knowledge of the theater industry really grew. “I was going to school for a public relations degree, but I still loved theater, so I hung out with a lot of the theater kids and took electives in the field while I was there,” she says.
It was from these friendships that Ludwig says she found out about a job opening for a company called Celebrity Attractions. “This company is an independent Broadway presenter that books tours out of New York that will appear at different performing arts centers in the Midwest,” she says. “I was excited to see if it would be a good fit.” After landing the job, Ludwig says she was thrust into the world of social media campaigns, assisting with press and publicity, and helping out with marketing needs the company had. “That’s when I fell in love with this side of the theater experience,” Ludwig says.
Outside of her passion for theater, Ludwig says she is a huge classic rock fan, naming Van Halen, an ode to her dad, her favorite rock band. “I love a good playlist,” she says as she offers some musical tidbits. Ludwig says she also loves to travel and is a self-proclaimed Disney Parks nerd.
“In a way, I’m very ‘basic’ in that I love Disney, Broadway, and Taylor Swift. But then there’s a side to me that loves the Texas Rangers, Van Halen, and movie/TV trivia,” she says. “I’m kind of like a walking IMDb.”
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The Feed:
1: Backstage before my high school production of Annie Get Your Gun in 2011, making my debut as Winnie Tate.
2: With the amazing PAFW Marketing Team at the Broadway League’s Spring Road Conference in 2022.
3: Behind the scenes with Ginna Claire Mason after Bubble Press for the Wicked Tour in Tulsa in 2018.
4: Saying “happy trails” to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center before moving back to Texas in 2021.
5: The Jimmy Awards after-party with my two nominees, Axyl and JJ, in 2019.
6: Me and mom at a birthday party in the late 90s. I still have the vest she’s wearing in this picture.
7: Enjoying a post-show party at the Spring Road Conference in 2022 with colleagues and close friends, Megan and Kristin.
8: On the Hamilton stage during the show’s Tulsa run in 2019 with one of my best friends, David and Warren Egypt Franklin.9: At a press conference with Adam Pascal, Rob McClure and Josh Grisetti of Something Rotten!
10: After landing my dream job with PAFW, I wanted to do a photoshoot downtown to mark the occasion.
Top 10 Musical Theater Performances Erica Has Seen:
- Seeing Lea Michele return to Broadway in Funny Girl (2022)
- The Broadway Revival of Company (2022)
- Moulin Rouge’s Reopening Night on Broadway (2021)
- The Jimmy Awards (2019)
- Wicked National Tour (2018)
- The first national tour of Something Rotten! (2017)
- Warren Egypt Franklin’s portrayal of Jefferson/Lafayette in the Philip Tour of Hamilton (2019)
- Come From Away at Bass Performance Hall (2021)
- Waitress (2017)
- Hadestown (2022)
