The three-time Tony Award nominee opens up to PEOPLE about the health battle she faced during ‘Death Becomes Her,’ the criticism she received for missing performances and her return to Broadway in ‘Schmigadoon!’

NEED TO KNOW

• Jennifer Simard reveals to PEOPLE that she underwent a hysterectomy and oophorectomy on July 6 after years of suffering from uterine fibroids
• The Broadway star says she experienced hemorrhaging that required emergency room treatment during her final months in Death Becomes Her
• Now starring in Schmigadoon!, Simard is urging theatergoers to show performers more compassion after learning of criticism surrounding her missed performances

Jennifer Simard is opening up about a private health battle that unfolded during her final months in Broadway’s Death Becomes Her.

The three-time Tony Award nominee, who recently returned to the stage in Schmigadoon!, reveals to PEOPLE exclusively that she underwent a hysterectomy and oophorectomy in July after suffering for years from uterine fibroids, a condition that eventually led to an emergency room visit.

“What most people don’t know is towards the end of the run I actually had to spend some time in the emergency room for some hemorrhaging,” Simard says.

The actress — who first starred opposite Megan Hilty in Death Becomes Her and later, Betsy Wolfe — says doctors initially believed she had eight fibroids. But the actual number turned out to be nearly twice that.

“It turns out I had 15,” she recalls.

Simard underwent surgery on July 6, having both her uterus and ovaries removed. Though she was able to finish her run in Death Becomes Her days earlier before it closed on June 28, she acknowledges that doing so was far from easy.

“I’m very proud that I got to finish the show, but it took a lot of strength,” she says.

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And while she was dealing with her health privately, Simard says she became aware of criticism from theatergoers questioning her absences from the production.

“Sometimes I don’t read the chat boards. It’s not good for me,” she admits. But word of the online chatter still reached her. “Someone on my team said, ‘Oh, someone’s being snarky about the fact that you were out or something.’ ”

Though she was proud of how many performances she managed to complete despite her condition, Simard wishes those criticizing her absences had been more understanding.

“They didn’t know what I was suffering with — honestly, for years,” Simard says.

Now, Simard hopes sharing her experience will encourage theatergoers to show more compassion for performers, particularly when they are forced to miss performances for reasons beyond their control.

“I would just say to please, please, please grant, if I could, to please grant grace to stage performers because there are a lot of people who would take time off from work to get life-saving surgery, and that is what I had to have done,” she says.

Fortunately, Simard says her recovery went smoothly, taking about six weeks. She credits her “incredible” surgeon, who performed the procedure laparoscopically with robotic assistance, and says she experienced no complications.

“I had no issues whatsoever” she says. “So, lucky me.”

It wasn’t long before another Broadway opportunity came calling. On Sept. 8, Simard joined the cast of Schmigadoon! at the Nederlander Theatre, taking over the role of Mildred Layton from Ana Gasteyer, who earned a Tony Award nomination for originating the character in the stage adaptation of the Apple TV musical comedy series.

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The new role reunited Simard with numerous longtime friends and collaborators from productions including Hello, Dolly!, Mean Girls and Death Becomes Her. And it brought her back to the same theater where she earned her first Tony nomination for Disaster! in 2016.

Despite having only a short break between productions, Simard insists she was more than ready to return to work.

“I like to work,” she says. “I like having a schedule. I love a theater schedule. I love the discipline of it. I love the routine of it. It’s why I keep coming back to theater — I really love it.”

For Simard, the opportunity to step into Schmigadoon! after such a challenging period has been especially rewarding.

“I have felt so seamlessly embraced,” she says of the cast and audience. “I think it’s been a really easy transition.”

And after everything she experienced in the final months of Death Becomes Her, she’s grateful Schmigadoon! has brought her back to the joy she felt discovering musical theater as a child, while reminding her why she loves being onstage in the first place.

“I knew I was going to love the show, but what I didn’t know is how moved I would be by it,” she says. “Right now with everything going on in the world, it is not lip service when I say it is a breath of fresh air. It has got heart and it’s honest. It’s really, really charming. And I’m having the time of my life.”

Tickets for Schmigadoon! are now on sale.

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