She's Going From 'The View' to Broadway

When Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy announced that they were leaving The View, regular watchers were both shocked and dismayed. After all, that would leave Whoopi Goldberg as the sole host until they filled those other seats and now there are mixed feelings about Rosie O'Donnell's return to The View to contend with. However, it's hard not to be excited for Shepherd when her post-View career seems to be in absolutely no danger of slowing down. In fact, Shepherd has been cast in Broadway's Cinderella, the Rodgers & Hammerstein production that will star Keke Palmer as the first African-American Cinderella. (At least, the first one on a Broadway stage — or am I the only one who watched the Brandy film?)

Shepherd will be playing the role of Madame, Cinderella's notoriously evil stepmother who runs around doing evil things like showing shameless favoritism to her real kids, making her stepchild do all the household chores, and forbidding her from going to fancy balls where she can gold-dig her way to a better life. Anyone who has ever seen The View before can attest to the fact that Shepherd has definitely got the pipes for this role and to see her achieving this level of success so soon after leaving a gig that she's had for seven years is truly amazing.

This is far from Shepherd's first acting role. As far back as 1995, Shepherd was landing reoccuring roles in shows like Cleghorn!, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Kim Possible. She's also been seen in movies like Beauty Shop, Precious, and Think Like a Man. Between her long acting resume and her musical talent, there shouldn't be anyone left out there who is doubting Shepherd's ability to play this role and play it well.

Cinderella opens on Broadway in September and it has the potential to be a truly star-making role for both Shepherd and Palmer. Oh, sure, they're both stars already, but Shepherd is best known these days among longtime fans of The View and Palmer is best known among those who recognize her as that girl from Akeelah and the Bee or Nickelodeon. They're both overdue for some more mainstream success at this stage of their careers.