The musical spoof with an all-female cast made a star of its central performer, who went on to glory at the Tonys.

Britney Spears and Natalie Portman understudied this Broadway star’s breakout role in the ’90s

The musical spoof with an all-female cast made a star of its central performer, who went on to glory at the Tonys.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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October 4, 2026 2:40 p.m. ET

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Britney Spears; Laura Bell Bundy; Natalie Portman. Credit:

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; John Nacion/Getty; Brian de Rivera Simon/Getty

- Laura Bell Bundy is looking back on a pair of superstars that understudied her in an off-Broadway musical in the 1990s.

- The off-kilter spoof *Ruthless *is “not notable necessarily,” Bundy recently explained, joking, “I mean, it is in the gay community, the gay theater community.”

- But it is notable for the fact that Bundy’s first understudy was Britney Spears, and Spears’ replacement was Natalie Portman.

It turns out Natalie Portman and Britney Spears share more than just a birth year and a friendship.

The Oscar winner and the pop superstar were once cast as understudies for the same role in an off-Broadway musical. That bombshell comes courtesy of Laura Bell Bundy, a staple of the American theater who got her big break in the 1992 production of *Ruthless!*

Bundy looked back on her time starring as Tina Denmark in the off-kilter spoof of female-forward titles like *Gypsy*, *Mame*, and *All About Eve* on Tuesday’s episode of the *Hey Dude... The 90s Called!* podcast. “Now, *Ruthless!* is not notable necessarily. I mean, it is in the gay community, the gay theater community. I played a little girl who killed another little girl for a partner show. It was a comedy,” Bundy explained, before unveiling the first big twist — “and Britney Spears was my understudy.”

Natalie Portman at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in 2026.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Bundy explained that when she was just 9 years old, she won a part in the Radio City Rockettes’ annual *Christmas Spectacular*. “So I had to move to New York and live in New York because that happened the fall and the early part of the winter. Then that led to me doing other theater projects in New York that I just stayed.”

Though Bundy dismissed *Ruthless! *as “not notable,” the camp spectacle did provide her with the big break that led immediately to a major part in the touring production of *The Sound of Music*, which then flowered into further parts.

It wasn’t just Bundy’s and Spears’ careers that the musical gave a little boost to, either.

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“Then Natalie Portman was my understudy when Britney left,” Bundy shared. “Now, I felt I was a little closer with Natalie, I think. You know, I knew Britney, but we didn’t play together. Natalie and I *played* together. We did some great prank calling.”

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*Ruthless *opened at New York City’s Players Theatre on March 13, 1992, and ran a staggering 342 performances in less than a year. Joining Bundy in the main cast were theater vet Donna English and classic Hollywood star Denise Lor. Though understudying Bundy would be Spears’ last go at stage success, Portman went on to star in the 1997 Broadway revival of *The Diary of Anne Frank*.

You can listen to Bundy’s full interview on the *Hey Dude... The 90s Called!* podcast above.

- Theater & The Arts

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Theater”