Friday, May 16, 2025
Jordan Tyson received her first lead role in a musical in 2013 when she was cast as Carla in the Malverne High School production of “In the Heights.” A little more than 10 years later she made her Broadway debut as Younger Allie in the musical production of “The Notebook.”
Tyson, 27, is now starring alongside Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald in Broadway’s “Gypsy.” The production follows the story of Rose, played by McDonald, and her two daughters, Louise and June, performed by Tyson, as they navigate the world of vaudeville and burlesque.
Tyson was born in Malverne and spent the majority of her childhood in the village. Her grandparents, Mary and Russell Kupfer, moved to Malverne in 1968 and her roots remain in the area. After spending a few years in Baltimore, Maryland, she returned to the village and attended Howard T. Herber Middle School and Malverne High School.
“It’s really my home base for sure, where I spent the most time in my childhood,” Tyson said. Her grandparents still live in the village, while her mother and siblings reside in Lakeview. “I come visit when I can,” she added.
After graduating high school in 2015, Tyson studied theater at Marymount Manhattan College for two years before dropping out to star in the off-Broadway musical, “Sweetee.”
After a few years auditioning and taking on different roles, Tyson landed the role of Younger Allie in a regional production of “The Notebook,” which she debuted in on Broadway in March of 2024.
“It was so amazing,” Tyson said, crediting this role for much of her growth as an actress. “The opening night of the ‘The Notebook’ lived up to everything I ever wished it would be. I got to have my loved ones with me, and I got to perform this beautiful thing. It was a really cool moment to celebrate all the work from over the years.”
Tyson credited her experiences at Malverne High School with the lessons she needed to pursue her career on stage.
“The school in general was wonderful for me, but the music department, people like Messina, Zagare and Vitola, they really invested me in a way that I don’t think I had ever been invested in before. It was such a gift,” Tyson said. “I just got so much support from them, they changed my life.”
Ken Zagare is Malverne’s choral director, and Michael Messina’s supervisor of music and fine arts in the school district.
“It’s completely surreal,” Zagare said of Tyson’s Broadway career. “I’m honored to have been a small part of her journey and to call her a friend.
“I’m proud of her persistence to go for what she wants, her dedication to the craft,” Zagare added. “And I’ve always said this about Jordan, even when she was in high school, I’m most proud of the person that she is beyond her talent.”
Messina recalled watching Tyson perform as a Spoon in “Beauty and the Beast” during her freshman year and expressed pride in how far Tyson has developed as a performer on stage.
“It’s very emotional knowing where she came from and how into it she was when she was younger,” he said. “She’s been an inspiration to the students that are here now. We went to see her in ‘The Notebook’ and we’re trying to organize a trip to see ‘Gypsy,’ so the students can see what can happen, that she’s one of them, and she really did it.”
Tyson received several accolades during her high school career, such as being placed in the National Association for Music Education All-County Chorus, the New York State School Music Association All-State Chorus, the NAfME All-Eastern Chorus, as well as the American Choral Directors Association All-Eastern Chinese Repertoire Choir, along with many other honors. She shared that it was in preparing for these opportunities, she learned valuable skills, like sight-singing and reading music.
“Now, I find myself in a new space with the level of work I’m doing, which feels right,” Tyson said. “What I always wanted was to tell stories and make people process something, and to be challenged, myself, with the rigor of the work.
“I fell in love with theater on (Malverne’s) stage,” she added. “So enjoy each other and follow what makes you feel good. If you think you want to do something creatively long-term, keep finding ways to do the things that bring you joy.”
