Chloe, age 9, keeps a busy schedule. She goes to school, plays on several soccer teams including a travel club in Westchester, N.Y., and spends time with her family and friends. But as she and her mom filed into the Ambassador Theatre in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday night, she had one thing on her mind: seeing her idol, NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Midge Purce, make her Broadway debut in Chicago.
“I love Midge because she’s awesome!” Chloe said from her fifth-row seat. “She plays soccer just like me, she makes good passes and she’s my idol.”
As the theatregoers found their seats, several could be spotted wearing Purce jerseys or other Gotham FC merch. Some of the forward’s teammates, including Nealy Martin and Jéssica Silva, were spotted in the crowd, too. As the curtain came up and the 29-year-old walked out to deliver the opening monologue, it was clear that Sports Illustrated Stadium was making its presence known on The Great White Way.
“I’ve been to Broadway shows and I’ve been to Gotham games, and it was fun to see the two worlds collide,” says Purce’s former teammate Nicole Baxter, who was also in attendance on Thursday night. “The more you can get Gotham collaborating with the New York City staples of entertainment and business, the more people in this area are going to start to recognize not only Gotham, but the people and personalities of the players.”
For several Gotham fans in attendance, it had been a long time since they’d seen a Broadway show, and for many of the patrons seeing Chicago, they had never heard of Gotham or Purce before Thursday night.
“I think tonight some Broadway fans may have become Midge and Gotham fans, and vice versa,” says Baxter.
Midge signed my playbill❤️ pic.twitter.com/fA5UbxC7lJ
— Marge, friendly neighborhood capo 🌟🦇 (@Oh_Marge) May 2, 2025
“Midge is a superstar, someone that I really look up to and a player that when I came to Gotham I really wanted to meet—of course I had to see her in her first Broadway show!” Silva said. “I will always support Midge, she’s an outstanding player and off the pitch she’s an incredible human being.”
In addition to the opening monologue, Purce played a reporter in Act II, and while she had no lines, she certainly had the stage presence needed for the Broadway stage.
After the show, Purce was joined by actors Tia Altinay and Rachel Schur for a talkback hosted by CBS Sports analyst Darian Jenkins. Nine-year-old Chloe made her way down to the front row, mother in tow, to get even closer to her idol.
“I was struck by how calm she was,” said one of the company members.
“I’ve been subbed on in the first half for the national team,” Purce replied with a laugh.
The trio spoke in depth about the crossovers between the training and athleticism necessary for professional athletes and actors. Between time in the gym, vocal training and stage fright, there were plenty of similarities to be found between the two industries.
“Seeing the intersection between the athletes and actors, and how they prepare physically, mentally and emotionally, how they have to maintain their bodies is such a parallel,” Jenkins says.“I know this personally and so does Midge, especially her coming back from injury, how much more you have to take care of your body to perform day in and day out.”
With Gotham FC’s profile continuing to grow in the women’s soccer landscape, the New Jersey-located team has been working hard to bring the club into the daily lives of their friends across the Hudson River.
The team has recently partnered with several bars and restaurants across the city including Legends NYC in Manhattan and Crystal Lake in Williamsburg to make sure fans can always find places to watch the games. Having Purce make her Broadway debut provided the team with a unique way to bring the team to a group of people who may be unfamiliar with the fact that a championship-winning women’s soccer team plays just a few miles away.
“I love that this is so unique to New York and Gotham,” Jenkins says. “It makes complete sense that the people who love Broadway would also love a show on the field.”
In typical New York fashion, fans, including those from the club’s longtime supporters group Cloud 9, crowded around the stage door following the talkback eager to get a photo with Purce to commemorate her one-night stint on stage. Chloe got to meet her idol for the second time, and even got her playbill signed.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gotham FC’s Midge Purce Trades Stadium Lights for Bright Lights of Broadway.