She’s got Roxie. Bianca Marroquín is a musical maven who made history as the first Mexican woman with a leading role on Broadway. She nabbed that honor playing Roxie Hart in Chicago, but flash forward 20 years, and she’s taking the stand (and stage) as Velma Kelly for the first time tomorrow.

Ahead of her return to the spotlight, we asked the Monterrey, Mexico native how she preps her voice, how she went from struggling singer to star, and what it takes to make All That Jazz.

6 A.M. I wake up with the light, or just my internal clock. I like to not speak [for] the first hour. I make my coffee and start drinking lots of water… I’m up and I’m moving, but I’m not speaking at all. My late teacher told me to do this, and it always works. [My voice] just starts to wake itself up and [feels] the air going through the vocal cords. Then I start humming, just on one note.

7 A.M. Once I hit the shower, I start doing a couple of [vocal] exercises… I started off as a dancer, but I always had a good ear. That helped me land spots in the ensemble of my first jobs. They needed dancers who could sing, so I had a good enough voice for them. I was in RentPhantom of the Opera, and then Chicago comes. The voice I had at the time was good enough for Roxie, but once [I moved] over to Broadway, I noticed my voice was not up to par with the rest of me—my dancing, my energy, my acting. I [would] always apologize to everybody, “I’m a dancer, I have a good ear, my voice is okay.” And I’m like, “I’m tired of apologizing, going into auditions [and] always making excuses. Do something about it!” That’s when I found my teacher, Barbara Bliss. Ever since [then] I could defend myself. I was able to do musicals I never thought I was going to like Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.

7:30 A.M. I have my yoga mat and I hit the floor. I start stretching, meditate for a little bit, then put my intention out for the day, which centers me. Anything that’s going on, always come back to your gratitude. I have breakfast, and normally it’s watermelon, yogurt, and granola. I reheat my coffee because I don’t finish it. [Laughing.] I think I reheat it like 4 or 5 times. Then I get dressed, do a little makeup, and do my hair.

9:15 A.M. I begin my journey to the rehearsal room… Rehearsal starts at 10 A.M., so I’ll leave so I can get to the studio at least 10 minutes [early] to keep stretching. Put shoes on, go to the bathroom, get my script out, put my water in place. I’m ready to go!… We all feel so blessed that we’re the ones reopening Broadway. From doing 8 shows a week to a year and a half of not doing anything, everybody’s having issues with their bodies. One of my knees is complaining and a little bit of my hip. We’re doing everything so fast and going 100%, and by the second week, we were getting injuries and [feeling] fatigued. Our bodies were going, “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” so we’re doing a lot of physical therapy and acupuncture and anything we can to get our bodies to remember, “This is what we did. Wake up!”

10 A.M. I’ve been playing Roxie on and off for 20 years. Now going back, it’s such a challenge because Velma’s completely different. She’s more athletic, more aerobic, more of a trickster. It’s kick, jump off the chair, then out of the chair, then lift the chair! There are very few people that have played Velma and Roxie in history. Bebe Neuwirth, Chita Rivera, and Ruthie Henshall. Now I’m the next one. I never saw it coming, seriously. I’m blessed to join that shortlist of legendary women. Of course, I’m achy. [When] I arrive home, the first thing I do is grab a bag of frozen peas and lick my wounds [laughing], but it’s worth it.

11 A.M. Velma has this crazy entrance where she comes out of the elevator and the music [builds] up to her, and that is just so delicious and yummy and elegant, but super sensual and in control. Then I get to belt at the very end. It’s very exciting. Today, I got to do Sister Act with everybody watching. It’s the first time I got laughs and feedback, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I think I’m having a lot of fun.” [Laughing.] I’m a goofball.

12 P.M. Then [I rehearse] Velma Takes the Stand. I have a lot of fun with that too, because it’s so precise. I have to be very focused, because if I’m not and I’m swinging my legs around the chair, I’ll hit myself. It is a little dangerous, but once you have it all calculated—this is how I move the chair, then I come up, then I smile, then I wink, then I stand on the chair and jump, then I glide—it can be a lot of fun. Velma is awesome! I was so in love with and loyal to my Roxie all this time. They offered it to me first. “What do you think about coming back as Velma?” I freaked out and I went, “Oh, but Roxie’s so good.” Little did I know, Velma’s amazing, too.