Beloved ‘Hamilton’ wardrobe stylist fired from show after beating Stage 3 cancer, lawsuit says

A beloved crewmember working behind the scenes of Hamilton, the smash Broadway hit by superstar playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, says she was callously tossed aside by the show’s producers after surviving Stage 3 breast cancer.

Kimberly Mark, a 53-year-old theatrical dresser for Alan Cumming on Cabaret before being brought to Hamilton a decade ago by Leslie Odom, Jr. – who portrayed Aaron Burr in the Tony-, Grammy-, and Pulitzer Prize-winning production – lays out details of her firing in an explosive disability discrimination lawsuit obtained by The Independent.

Broadway dressers are responsible for overseeing a specific actor's costumes, which includes maintaining them, preparing them for performances, and facilitating quick wardrobe changes during the show.

Following four surgeries, 12 weeks of chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation, Mark was told by higher-ups that the “the job ha[d] become too physically demanding” for her, according to the complaint, which says Mark was in fact an “exemplary” employee.

The New Jersey resident was well-liked by both cast and crew, with Miranda himself warmly responding, “Kimmyyyyyyy ❤️❤️❤️,” to a June 2025 Instagram post spotlighting Mark’s longtime service to the show.

She was fired shortly thereafter.

“The date of her termination coincided with the anniversary of her cancer recovery, transforming what should have been a milestone of strength and survival into a source of pain and humiliation,” Mark’s complaint states. “[She] now associates that anniversary with the end of her 28-year career on Broadway and the loss of the professional community that had long supported her.”

Attorney Kenneth McCallion, a former federal prosecutor who brought the suit on behalf of Mark, declined to comment on the case beyond what is included in court filings.

The Hamilton publicity team, as well as Miranda’s personal publicist, did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment. (Miranda is not named personally as a defendant in the suit.)

Over her career, Mark has “earned a reputation as a highly skilled, reliable,and trusted professional in the Broadway industry,” having worked as a dresser on more than 30 shows, her complaint says.

On Hamilton, Mark was tasked with dressing two principal actors during each show, a role the complaint says she performed “diligently, competently, and without any complaints or discipline.”

In September 2022, Mark was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, the complaint goes on. When she got through the surgery, chemo and radiation, Mark was put on a medication regimen that causes ongoing joint pain, stiffness, fatigue and cognitive issues, according to the complaint, which was filed Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court.

Mark went on unpaid medical leave the next month, returning to Hamilton in August 2023. She was welcomed back eagerly by colleagues, and given a reduced workload of four shows a week, rather than the usual eight, the complaint continues. Although she was still undergoing treatment to keep her cancer at bay, Mark “quickly demonstrated that she could perform all essential functions of her job under the adjusted schedule,” it says.

This so-called split-track schedule went on for nearly two years, a setup the complaint describes as “both common and accepted in the Broadway industry.” The producers of Hamilton had “long accommodated similar arrangements for other employees for reasons unrelated to disability,” including members of the props, hair, sound, and wardrobe departments, the complaint goes on.

In June, Mark was called into a meeting with her supervisor and the company manager, “and was told that ‘the job has become too physically demanding’ for her – a remark made in reference to the physical limitations [Mark] continued to experience following her medical treatment and ongoing medication regimen – and that her last day of work would be September 7, 2025,” the complaint states. “This assertion was inconsistent with [Mark’s] actual work performance, as she had been successfully handling her responsibilities under the split-track without issue.”

The pair told Mark that she could stay if she agreed to work all eight shows a week, a condition that would be impossible for her to meet, according to the complaint. It says a new actor had joined the show for a 12-week run, and had a contract that required his dresser work every show. But, the complaint alleges, management never offered Mark an opportunity to work out an alternative accommodation, as required by law, that would allow her to remain employed.

Mark and her union rep proposed “reasonable alternatives,” the complaint goes on, listing options such as allowing Mark to dress her other assigned actor during those 12 weeks, or taking a temporary leave and resuming her position at the end of the three months.

However, the production “rejected both proposals without explanation,” according to the complaint.

At the same time, Mark discovered that another dresser on Hamilton was permitted to remain on a split-track schedule for “non-medical reasons,” which the complaint claims is proof that the show’s “refusal to continue [Mark’s] split-track was not a neutral policy decision but targeted discrimination against [Mark] because of her disability.”

Mark was a model employee throughout her tenure at Hamilton, and was recognized by coworkers for her “dedication, positive attitude, and professionalism, making her termination all the more unjust and unexpected,” the complaint contends.

“[The show’s] decision to terminate [Mark] because of her disability and need for accommodation has caused her severe emotional distress, anxiety, and financial hardship,” the complaint concludes. “The loss of her career after nearly three decades in the industry has been devastating, and [Mark] now faces diminished professional opportunities and economic insecurity at a time when stability is critical for her ongoing health.”

In 2021, Hamilton castmember Suni Reid, who is non-binary, filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming their contract was not renewed after requesting a gender-neutral dressing room.

The following year, Miranda threatened a lawsuit in response to an evangelical church in McAllen, Texas, staging an unauthorized anti-LGBT+ production of Hamilton, in which the lyrics and dialogue were rewritten to reflect “Christian” themes, including a sermon at the show’s end offering help to people “struggling with homosexuality.”

Mark is suing Hamilton Uptown, LLC, the show’s corporate parent, on three causes of action: disability discrimination, failure to accommodate and retaliation.

Her complaint maintains that the justification she was given for her firing – that the job had become “too physically demanding” for her – was “pretextual and rooted in impermissible disability-based stereotypes and assumptions.”

Mark is now seeking reinstatement to her position and a declaration by a judge that her treatment on Hamilton violated the New York City and New York State Human Rights Laws, plus back pay, lost benefits, as attorneys’ fees and court costs, punitive damages, and compensatory damages for emotional distress and mental anguish, to be determined in court.

She is demanding a jury trial.