Natalie Toro is an American singer and actress for stage, television, and film.

Early life and education

Toro was born in Bronx, NY, where her parents both immigrated to from Puerto Rico. She debuted at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a ...

at the age of five. Later on, she studied piano and voice at the pre-college division of

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...

and the High School of Music and Art until the age of 18. She attended the

Boston Conservatory of Music Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

earning a BFA in Musical Theater.

Career

In 1999, Toro began a long journey with ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...

'', a musical by

Jill Santoriello Jill Santoriello is an American musician, composer, lyricist, and author. She is a self-taught musician whose award-winning first musical ''A Tale of Two Cities'' was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Musical in 2009. Her ...

. In 2002, she performed the role of

Madame Defarge Madame Thérèse Defarge is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. She is a ringleader of the tricoteuses, a tireless worker for the French Revolution, memorably knitting besi ...

for the concept recording of the musical. In 2010, she reunited with many members of the Broadway Cast to record the “International Studio Cast Recording”, as well as a DVD of a semi-staged highlights concert of the musical. In 2004, she began to tour with

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

, both while Sebastian Bach was on the tour and after he left. In 2007, she was cast in the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

adaptation of ''

'' in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

at the

Asolo Repertory Theatre The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep (AKA: Asolo Theatre Company, Inc.) is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Actors' Equity Association, Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory, Repertory theatre in t ...

. She received a 2007 ''Sarasota Magazine'' Award for Best Supporting Theatre Actress. Broadway previews in New York began on August 19, 2008 at the

Al Hirschfeld Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh in a Moorish and ...

, with an official opening of September 18. She remained in the show until it closed on November 16, 2008. On November 23, 2008, Toro released her second solo-CD, which was self-titled "Natalie Toro".

Theatrical Credits

Broadway

*''

'',

*''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'', Eponine *''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' (

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

Productions)

Off-Broadway

*'' Zombie Prom'' (off-Broadway)

National Tour

*''

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 o ...

'', Grizabella *'' Evita'', Evita Peron *''

'', Mary Magdalene *''

In the Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of ...

'', Camila Rosario

Theatre Awards

* 2009: 2008-09 BroadwayWorld Fan Theatre Awards for Best Featured Actress (Finalist/Nominated) - Madame DeFarge, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' * 2008: Sarasota Magazine Theatre Award for Best Featured Actress (WIN) - Madame DeFarge, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' * 1999: J. Jefferson Theatre Award (Chicago) for Best Actress (Nominated) - Evita in '' Evita''

References

External links

A Tale of Two Cities

People from the Bronx A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prop ...

American people of Puerto Rican descent American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toro, Natalie Actresses from New York City American musical theatre actresses Singers from New York City Living people Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American actresses of Puerto Rican descent Puerto Rican stage actresses