Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal (born January 30, 1980), known professionally as Lena Hall, is an American actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical '' Kinky Boots'' and won the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ...

for her performance as Yitzhak in the 2014 revival of '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', which also earned her a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for the musical's official album. She made history by becoming the first person to play both Hedwig and Yitzhak in the same production during the national tour of the musical in 2016. Her other Broadway credits include ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

'', '' 42nd Street'', ''

Dracula, the Musical ''Dracula, the Musical'' is a musical based on the original 1897 Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The show had its regional premiere at the La Jolla Pl ...

'' and '' Tarzan, the Musical''. Hall has also starred in Off-Broadway productions such as '' Radiant Baby'', ''Bedbugs!!!'', ''Rooms: A Rock Romance'', '' The Toxic Avenger'', ''Prometheus Bound'', ''Chix6'', and the 2017 original play ''How to Transcend a Happy Marriage''. Hall has appeared in films such as ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Sta ...

'' (2008), '' The Graduates'' (2008), ''Born from the Foot'' (2009), '' The Big Gay Musical'' (2009), and '' Becks'' (2017), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She has also appeared on TV shows like ABC's ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, an ...

'', HBO's ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'',

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

's '' Good Girls Revolt'', and voiced the role of Countess Coloratura on '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''. In 2020, she joined the cast of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

's science fiction epic ''

Snowpiercer ''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 post-apocalyptic science fiction action film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel '' Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho ...

'' as Miss Audrey. Hall was the lead singer of the band ''The Deafening'', they released an album with original songs in 2012 titled ''Central Booking''. In 2015, Hall released her first solo album, ''Sin & Salvation: Live At the Carlyle''.

Biography

Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal was born in San Francisco, California, on January 30, 1980, to Carlos and Carolyn (''née'' Houser) Carvajal. Her father is a ballet dancer, choreographer and the co-artistic director for the annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, her mother was a prima ballerina and is now a yogi master. She has Filipino, Spanish, and Swedish ancestry through her father. Her paternal grandfather arrived from the Philippines to San Francisco in 1926, and her paternal grandmother is Swedish. Her sister is Calliope "Calli" Carvajal, a hair stylist. She is a graduate of Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, where she first studied dance, and an alumna of the Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company in San Francisco. Her first big break was singing for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco, San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point, Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Gi ...

in San Francisco for over 50,000 people at the age of 7. Hall changed her professional name from "Celina Carvajal" to Lena Hall in 2013, saying she had created it for her music persona and now wanted to use it for her acting career as well. She explained her name change to ''Broadway.com'': "Multiple people in the industry suggested I have one name for everything. ena Hallis just two shortenings of my first name and my last name. So Lena Hall ''is'' Celina Carvajal. It seemed like an easier way of people getting to know me. Lena Hall is a nice symmetrical name, and it reminds people of

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

, who was a singer. And when people hear my name, I want them to think of a singer". She later found out that "Carvajal" is actually a stage name taken seven generations back that became a family name. Hall said that it was one of the reasons why she was able to let go of the Carvajal name because it was a stage name, and it felt like her ancestors would agree with her name change. In December 2018, she announced her engagement to Jonathan Stein. They married on May 27, 2019.

Career

Hall made her Broadway debut in 1999 in ''

'', taking over the role of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, ...

after first performing in the national tour in 1998. She next took over the role of Ann "Anytime Annie" Reilly in '' 42nd Street''. She also performed in a national tour of '' Annie Get Your Gun'', understudying the lead role. In 2003, Hall appeared in '' Radiant Baby'', a musical about artist

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

, in various roles. In 2004 she was in the original ensemble of ''

'', and was the understudy for Kelli O'Hara as Lucy Westenra. In 2006 she was in the original ensemble of the musical ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

'', and was also the

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

for Jennifer Gambatese as Jane Porter. In 2008, she competed in the reality show '' Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods'', in which she was the 3rd contestant eliminated, and starred in the Off-Broadway musicals ''Green Eyes'', and ''Bedbugs!!!'', in which she played the role of Carly at the

New York Musical Theatre Festival The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) was an annual three-week summer festival that operated from 2004 to 2019. It presented more than 30 new musicals a year in New York City's midtown theater district. More than half were chosen by leading theate ...

. In 2009, she was the understudy for

Leslie Kritzer Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (born May 24, 1977) is an American singer and musical theatre actress. Life and career Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer was born in Manhattan and raised in Livingston, New Jersey. Her father is Jewish, and her mother is of Pu ...

in the role of Monica P. Miller in the musical ''Rooms: A Rock Romance''. Also in 2009, she took over the lead role of Sarah in the musical '' The Toxic Avenger'' at the

New World Stages New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue. ...

. In 2011, she performed as Daughter of the Ocean in the musical ''Prometheus Bound'', inspired by Aeschylus's Ancient Greek tragedy, at the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to n ...

, and also appeared as Blaze in the musical ''Chix6''. In 2013, Hall originated the role of Nicola (played on film by Jemima Rooper) in the musical '' Kinky Boots'', which won the

for Best Musical. In 2013, her band The Deafening released an album with original songs titled ''"Central Booking"''. In 2014, Hall was cast as Yitzhak in the Broadway production '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', (a role previously played off-Broadway by Miriam Shor) opposite

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

, for which she won the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

. She left the role on April 4, 2015, after playing Yitzhak opposite Harris,

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree k ...

, Michael C. Hall,

Andrew Rannells Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American film, stage, television and voice actor. Rannells is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'' for which he was nomi ...

and

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...

as Hedwig. In 2016, she was cast in the national tour of Hedwig, which opened on October 2, 2016, reprising her role as Yitzhak, and for one performance a week, playing the title role of Hedwig for a total of eight performances in Los Angeles and San Francisco, making her the first actor to play both roles in the same production. She played the roles in San Francisco and Los Angeles alongside ''Glee'' star

. Following her run in ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', Hall toured North America alongside

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

on his "Stages" tour. On September 28, 2015, Hall released her first solo album, ''Sin & Salvation: Live At the Carlyle'', featuring her renditions of songs from artists such as

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

, Hozier, and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the Honori ...

. The album was recorded at the

Carlyle Hotel The Carlyle Hotel, known formally as The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel, is a combination luxury apartment hotel located at 35 East 76th Street on the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 76th Street, on the Upper East Side of New York City. Op ...

during Hall's musical show ''Sin & Salvation'', which ran for two weeks. Her TV work include 9 episodes of ''

'' in the role of Treena in 2009, Juicy Lucy in '' Good Girls Revolt'' (2015), the voice of Countess Coloratura/Rara in the 115th episode of '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', titled "The Mane Attraction". In 2016, Hall played a seductive yoga instructor in an episode of the HBO series ''

''. She also performs the songs along with

Tony Vincent Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

for the fictional band "Dog Gone" in the 2015 PBS series ''

Nature Cat ''Nature Cat'' is an educational animated children's television series that premiered on November 25, 2015 on PBS Kids and is aimed at children aged 3–8. The series follows the adventures of four main characters: Nature Cat, Hal the Dog, Squeek ...

''. She has appeared in five movies: ''

'' (2008), '' The Graduates'' (2008), ''Born from the Foot'' (2009), '' The Big Gay Musical'' (2009), and '' Becks'' (2017), in which she plays the title role and her first leading role in a feature film, and received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. which won the U.S. Fiction Award at the

LA Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

. In 2017, Hall starred in the role of Pip on

Sarah Ruhl Sarah Ruhl (born January 24, 1974) is an American playwright, professor, and essayist. Among her most popular plays are ''Eurydice'' (2003), '' The Clean House'' (2004), and '' In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)'' (2009). She has been the re ...

's Off-Broadway play ''How to Transcend a Happy Marriage'' starring opposite

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...

at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. Hall released a series of 12 digital EPs titled ''Obsessed'' in 2018, one per month. The January release consists of selections from ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', while each of the others features her renditions of several songs by a different artist. In 2021, Hall voice acted in a live-streamed reading of a science fiction screenplay called ''Aurora'' by Joe Scott, playing multiple roles. The reading, which served as Scott's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

channel's Halloween special and centered around the Aurora, Texas, UFO incident, saw its proceeds donated to Team Seas.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Other album appearances

* ''Tarzan (Original Broadway Cast Recording)'' (2004) * ''Dracula (Original Broadway Cast Recording)'' (2006) * ''Central Booking'' (2012) – with The Deafening * ''Kinky Boots (Original Broadway Cast Recording)'' (2013) * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Original Broadway Cast Recording)'' (2014) * ''Pinkie Pie's Party Playlist'' (2016) * ''Desmond Child Live'' (2019) – Desmond Child * ''Home Street Home, Volume 1'' (2020)

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Lena Living people 1980 births Tony Award winners Actresses from San Francisco American stage actresses American film actresses American women singers American television actresses American musical theatre actresses American actresses of Filipino descent American people of Spanish descent American people of Swedish descent American musicians of Filipino descent American women songwriters Songwriters from California 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses