Elon’s 134th Commencement exercises will be held in Schar Center on Friday, May 24, 2024.
Ginna Claire Mason ’13, who has dazzled audiences with her performances on the Broadway stage and on television screens across the country, will deliver Elon University’s undergraduate commencement address to the Class of 2024 on Friday, May 24.
Mason majored in music theatre at Elon, setting the stage for a professional career that would take her to Broadway and beyond. She made her Broadway debut in 2015 in what she calls “a dream role” — portraying Glinda in the international hit musical “Wicked.” It was a role that would take her on the national tour of the production for several years before she brought Glinda back to Broadway in 2019. Mason would be there on Broadway as Glinda to welcome audiences back to the theater following the 18-month shutdown during the pandemic.
During the past several years, Mason could be found during the holiday season starring in productions on the Hallmark Channel. In 2022, she played a leading role in “A Holiday Spectacular,” which featured the world-famous Radio City Rockettes and entertainment legend Ann-Margret. The following year, she was the lead in “A Heidelberg Holiday,” which took her to Germany for filming.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Mason fell in love with Elon during a visit to campus during her senior year in high school. She was selected for Elon’s highly competitive music theatre program and arrived on campus as one of six women joining the program that year. While a student, Mason performed in the main stage productions “110 in the Shade,” “Hair,” “Children of Eden” and starred as Polly Baker in “Crazy for You.” At Elon she studied voice under Professor Catherine McNeela and spent a semester in London where she studied theater, art and opera.
Off the stage, Mason was deeply involved in Inter-Varsity campus ministry, through which she developed a close friendship with Becca Moffett ‘12. After graduation, she would marry Moffett’s brother, Eric Moffett, and the couple would move to New York to pursue Mason’s theatrical aspirations. In 2017, she was recognized by Elon for her professional achievements as one of the year’s “Top 10 Under 10 Alumni.”
Along with her time on Broadway, Mason toured with the shows “Flashdance” and “Newsies” and starred in the Las Vegas premiere of “Duck Commander Musical.” She has performed on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Other professional highlights include headlining Theatre Orb’s “New Years Musical Concert” in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, filming the television series “Preach,” taking part in the documentary “Broadway Rising,” singing at the historic Ryman Auditorium in her hometown of Nashville, and performing with Kristin Chenoweth in “For the Girls” and at Radio City for Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” kickoff.
Mason started an online virtual music theatre school with two of her best friends in 2020, and since then has worked with hundreds of young artists as an acting and voice coach.
Ginna Claire and Eric have a two-year-old son, Cooper, and an infant daughter, Annabelle. She remains close and connected to the Elon alumni network.
The 134th Commencement Exercises will include two ceremonies for the Class of 2024 in Schar Center. The 9 a.m. diploma ceremony will be for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and the School of Communications. The 2:30 p.m. diploma ceremony will be for the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education and Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. Visit the Elon University Commencement website for more details.