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NC singer Brooke Simpson honors her heritage on Broadway, at DPAC in touring production of '1776'

A North Carolina singer is honoring her Native American history every night on stage.

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By
Kathy Hanrahan
, WRAL lifestyle editor
DURHAM, N.C. — A North Carolina singer is honoring her Native American history every night on stage.
Last year, Brooke Simpson, of Hollister, made her Broadway debut in the revival of the musical "1776."

Simpson played Roger Sherman and understudied for the role of the Courier in the Tony Award-winning musical, which tells the story of the Founding Fathers of the United States as they prep to sign the Declaration of Independence. The cast features an ethnically diverse cast of female, transgender and non-binary actors as the Founding Fathers.

Simpson, who was a finalist on NBC’s "The Voice" and "America’s Got Talent," mentioned the role when sharing a special New Year's Eve video during WRAL's First Night coverage.
She filmed that greeting the night she was making her Broadway debut as the Courier, the role she is currently playing in the national tour of "1776," which is playing Durham Performing Arts Center through June 4.

"At the top the show before it even truly begins and the curtain opens and you enter into our world, I step out onto that stage and I give a land acknowledgment and what’s cool about doing that on tour is in every single city I get to say the specific tribe names of whose land we’re on to honor them," Simpson told WRAL Thursday. "It's really special right now being in North Carolina because I get to not only say tribes of people I grew up with but my own personal tribe - the Haliwa-Saponi."

The tradition started with the Broadway production and continues during the national tour.

Simpson said the moment is incredibly powerful and serves as a way to honor her ancestors.

As the Courier in the show, Simpson also gets to wear a medallion throughout the show. The piece of beaded artwork has been in her family for decades and was made for her father.

The medallion sits on her chest the entire show, Simpson said, as "a sign that we are still here."

"I feel like I have a piece of my personal heritage but also my culture on that Broadway stage with me," Simpson said.

Brooke Simpson, Haliwa-Saponi tribe featured in Nike commercial

While Simpson now resides in Los Angeles, her family remains in Hollister.

Simpson finished fourth on AGT and third on The Voice and she’s the first contestant to be that successful on both shows. Since AGT, she has done a campaign with Nike, had two billboards in Los Angeles and Time Square and released several singles.

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