NEW YORK - Melissa Barrera is learning firsthand just how physically demanding Broadway can be.
The actress, currently starring as Rose DeWitt Bukater in the hit musical parody "Titaníque," announced over the weekend that she lost her voice during a performance and was taking a few days off to recover.
"Doing 8 shows a week of a Broadway musical is no joke," Barrera wrote on her Instagram Story. "After being non-stop since March 26 my body finally told me to take a break."
She explained that her voice gave out after Wednesday's show, forcing her to call out the following night. After vocal rest, she returned to the stage - but the strain caught up with her again.
"I pushed through because I hate missing shows and missing y'all who travel from all over to see us," she wrote, "but it was mortifying and stressful and by the end of the show I couldn't even sing, there was no voice left."
Barrera struck a note of self-compassion in her message to fans, adding, "Gotta listen to our bodies and there is no shame in that, even though it pains me to miss a single second on that beautiful stage."
She also gave fans a heads-up that she'll be out again on August 21 and 22 for separate reasons, ahead of her final performance on September 20.
Barrera made her Broadway debut in the original cast of "Titaníque" when performances began in March at the St. James Theatre. The production, a comedic send-up of "Titanic" set to Celine Dion's music, has since been nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and extended its run through September 20.
