Will SYTYCD's Mary Murphy Ever Stop Crying?

The dancing show's resident zany judge has good reason to shed some tears—and it has nothing to do with the contestants

Mary Murphy is the So You Think You Can Dance judge who keeps on crying...and crying...and crying.

But her most recent tears have nothing to do with being moved by any SYTYCD contestant.

Murphy is set to make her Broadway debut next month in the ballroom show  Burn the Floor. First up will be a one-night only gig on Dec. 22 benefiting a domestic violence center in her hometown of San Diego, followed by a monthlong run starting Jan. 12.

She began rehearsals last week in NYC...

"It's so surreal to me," Murphy tells me. "Ballroom dancers have never had this kind of opportunity before. I got up there on that stage and I just started crying."

While those are happy tears, it does sound like there could be some caused by pain.

"I'm hurting," Murphy admits. "I haven't done anything this strenuous in quite a long time...I was just shocked when they called. I was like, 'I haven't danced like that in 10 or 15 years.' I was thinking, 'Can I really do this?' "

Now that she's back in the game, does she have what it takes for a ticket on her Hot Tamale Train?

"Hopefully, I'll get on the train the first time around in December," she says, laughing. "But if not, I think by January, I'll definitely be on that train."

Murphy's gig with the show begins just after Dancing With the Stars vets Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kym Johnson end a six-week stint. Chmerkovskiy also starred in the show earlier this year with his then fiancé Karina Smirnoff.