June Squibb on Returning to Broadway 66 Years After Making ‘Gypsy’ Debut (Exclusive)

June Squibb is returning to Broadway, 66 years after making her debut under the bright lights in Gypsy.

Chatting exclusively with PEOPLE at the New York City premiere of Eleanor the Great on Sept. 24, the 95-year-old actress reflected on how her upcoming role in Marjorie Prime will be different from her run as stripper Electra in Gypsy in 1959.

“Well, I moved a lot differently then. I was doing a lot of bumps and grinds every night, so it’ll be very different,” Squibb jokes.

“Not so many bumps and grinds now,” she adds.

Squibb began her prolific career in the theater world, performing in several productions at the Cleveland Play House before taking on two Off-Broadway roles. She made her Broadway debut in Gypsy at the age of 30, which was followed by other theater gigs and roles in numerous films and TV series.

Squibb will return to the Broadway stage in Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer Prize-finalist play Marjorie Prime in the titular role. Her character is a woman navigating memory and loss as she interacts with a holographic companion programmed to resemble her deceased husband. 

The science-fiction drama — which also stars Cynthia Nixon, Danny Burstein and Christopher Lowell — will begin previews on Nov. 20 before opening on Dec. 8 at the Hayes Theater in New York City.

In 2024, Squibb spoke to PEOPLE about landing her first cinematic leading role at the age of 94 in the action-comedy Thelma. She revealed at the time that she even did her own stunts for the movie, which follows a grandmother who falls victim to a phone scam and sets out to track down the perpetrators.

“I always think I could do whatever stunt is necessary in a film,” Squibb said at the time of her action scenes, which include rolling over a bench in a glass shop and ramming her motorized scooter into that of Richard Roundtree’s.

“I was so proud of myself doing this. The scooter was great fun — it was a joy to be on that,” she added.

Squibb, who earned her first Academy Award nomination for Nebraska at 84, told PEOPLE that she credits her confidence for her long and successful acting career.

“I never questioned myself when I was younger, and I was very independent as a child,” she explained. “I think I probably wouldn’t still be here today working like I am if it weren’t for some of that.”

Squibb also has a leading role in the new film Eleanor the Great, which marks Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut. She plays the “witty and proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who — after a devastating loss — tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own,” per a synopsis.

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Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the movie’s 2025 Cannes Film Festival premiere in May, Johansson, 40, recalled that while making Eleanor the Great and dreaming of Cannes, she told a producer, “ ‘If I do my job well and do what I’m supposed to do, I can imagine June walking the Croisette at age 95, starring in this incredible dramatic role that she’s so amazing in,’ and I thought that would be my dream … to have it actually become a reality is amazing.”

Tickets for Marjorie Prime are on sale. Eleanor the Great is in select theaters now.