Alison Fraser

Alison Fraser (born in Natick, Massachusetts) is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Tisch Center for the Arts, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Wilma, The Emelin, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, and Symphony Space.

Career

Fraser is a two-time Tony Award nominee for '' The Secret Garden'' and '' Romance/Romance'',
a Drama Desk Award nominee for both '' The Secret Garden'', and ''First Daughter Suite'' and a Carbonell Award winner for '' Romance/Romance''. Fraser is a Callaway Award-winner for '' Heartbreak House''.

She played "Tessie Tura" in the New York City Center and Broadway productions of '' Gypsy'' starring Patti LuPone under the direction of Arthur Laurents.

She was the first ever recipient of Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of "The Blonde" in Marion Adler, Scott Wentworth and Craig Boehmler's film noir musical, ''Gunmetal Blues'' under the direction of Jiri Zizka. She reprised the role of "The Blonde" in ''Gunmetal Blues'' opposite Patrick Quinn at the George Street Playhouse. She returned there to play "Diana" in '' Lend Me a Tenor'', directed by David Saint.

She was the original "Trina" (Marvin's ex-wife) in William Finn's '' March of the Falsettos'' and ''In Trousers'' ( Playwrights Horizons). She also did vocal orchestrations for both shows. She played "Miss Drumgoole" in Todd Rundgren's adaptation of Joe Orton's ''Up Against It'' ( New York Shakespeare Festival), "Uta" in Charles Busch and Rusty Magee's '' The Green Heart'' ( Manhattan Theatre Club), "Connie"/"Petula"/"Brenda" in ''Beehive'' at the Village Gate, and "Marion Ames" in ''Swingtime Canteen''. In 1988, she appeared on Broadway in ''Romance/Romance'', a musical starring herself and '' Quantum Leap'' star, Scott Bakula. For her dual-role as Josefine/Monica, Fraser received her first Tony Award Nomination. In 1991, Fraser appeared in ''The Secret Garden,'' a musical based on the children's story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. For originating the role of Martha, Fraser earned a second Tony Award Nomination. ''The Secret Garden'' also featured Mandy Patinkin, Daisy Eagan, John Cameron Mitchell and Rebecca Luker. Fraser stars in the one-woman show ''A Tennessee Williams Songbook'' conceived and directed by David Kaplan with musical direction by Allison Leyton-Brown. The show premiered at The Tennessee Williams Festival in Williams' birthplace of Columbus, Mississippi and went on to great acclaim at the annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. An original cast album titled ''Tennessee Williams: Words and Music'' was released on Sh-K-Boom Records in 2013.

Fraser portrayed the flamboyant but clueless "Babs Caplan" on the award-winning PBS series, '' Between the Lions''. She has appeared on the TV series '' Gotham'', '' High Maintenance'', ''Smash'', '' Law and Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''Happy!'', and '' Third Watch''. She played the recurring roles of "Aunt Heidi" in the award-winning web-series ''Jack in a Box'', written and produced by Michael Cyril Creighton, and "Veronica Bailey" on Wesley Taylor and Mitchell Jarvis’s '' It Could Be Worse'' (the latter web series was broadcast on Pivot and was later picked up by Hulu).

Her feature films include ''Socks and Bonds'', ''Family Games'', ''Blowtorch'', ''Commentary'', ''Jack and His Friends'' (with Sam Rockwell), ''Me and Him'', ''Mixing Nia'', ''In the Blood'', ''The Mice War'', ''Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon'', and '' The Thing About My Folks''. She can also be seen in the ''Bright Eyes'' music video for their song, First Day of My Life, directed by her ''Secret Garden'' co-star, John Cameron Mitchell. She authored an interview with Anthony Newley which was published in ''Time Out''. Fraser also appeared in video games '' Grand Theft Auto IV'', ''Grand Theft Auto V'' and '' Mafia III''.

She has made three solo albums, ''A New York Romance,'' ''Men in My Life'' and ''Tennessee Williams: Words and Music.''

In 2004, Fraser sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park.

In 2009, Arthur Laurents cast Fraser in an original play, ''Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are'' which premiered at the George Street Playhouse. The play was directed by Laurents himself and featured Tony-winning actress, Shirley Knight. Also with Knight, Fraser appeared in the 2012 world premiere of Tennessee Williams' final full-length play ''In Masks Outrageous and Austere''.

In 2010, playwright and performer Charles Busch cast Fraser in his new comedy, ''The Divine Sister'', a play satirizes the cinematic portrayal of nuns. Fraser played Sister Walburga. Fraser then originated the role of Arsinoe in David Ives' comedy ''The School For Lies'' at Classic Stage Company.

On December 16, 2013, Fraser joined the First National Tour of ''Wicked'' in the role of Madame Morrible.

In 2015, Fraser appeared in four episodes of the Showtime television series '' Happyish'' as both Ma Keebler and Boots.

From October 6 to November 22, 2015, Fraser performed in the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's musical ''First Daughter Suite'' at the Public Theater, in the roles of Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford. For her performance, Fraser received nominations for both the Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

In the fall of 2017, Fraser performed a limited run of playwright Aaron Mark's new play ''Squeamish.'' The one woman show was presented by All For One Theater (AFO) at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre. ''Squeamish'' ran October 6 – November 11, 2017. For ''Squeamish,'' Fraser received a 2018 Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.

In April 2021, AudioFile named Fraser a recipient of its Earphones Award for her audiobook narration of Alexander Nemerov's novel, ''Fierce Pose''.

Personal life

Fraser graduated summa cum laude in spring 2010 from Fordham University, where she now teaches a musical theatre course.

Fraser is the widow of composer and performer Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee, with whom she has one son, Nathaniel Fraser Magee, who is an editor in New York City.

Theatre credits

* '' In Trousers''
* '' March of the Falsettos''
* '' Falsettos''
* '' Lady in the Dark''
* '' Lips Together, Teeth Apart''
* '' Lend Me a Tenor''
* '' Tartuffe''
* '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood''
* ''Secret Garden''
* ''Up Against It''
* ''The Green Heart''
* ''Beehive''
* '' Honk!''
* ''Prodigal''
* ''Lizzie Borden''
* ''Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams''
* '' High School Musical''
* ''A Quarrel of Sparrows''
* '' Gypsy''
* '' Wicked''
* ''Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are''
* '' The Divine Sister''
* ''Archy and Mehitabel''
* ''Love, Loss, and What I Wore''
* ''The School For Lies''
* ''A Charity Case''
* ''In Masks Outrageous and Austere''
* ''Love Therapy''
* ''First Daughter Suite''
* ''The Sandbox''
* ''Funnyhouse of a Negro''
* ''Squeamish''
* ''the shards of an honor code junkie''
* ''A Blanket Of Dust''
* ''Heartbreak House''
* ''Steel Magnolias''
* ''Enter Laughing''
* ''Cinderella''
* ''Deathtrap''
* ''Paradise Lost''
* '' Romance/Romance''

Filmography

Film

*1988: ''Me and Him''
*1992: '' Jack and His Friends''
*1997: ''The Amazing Feats of Young Hercules'' (voice)
*1998: ''Mixing Nia''
*2003: '' The Thing About My Folks''
*2006: ''In The Blood''
*2006: ''Spectropia''
*2012: ''Commentary''
*2014: ''Socks and Bonds''
*2016: ''Blowtorch''
*2017: ''The Mice War'' (voice)
*2017: ''Family Games''
*2017: ''Hard''
*2018: ''Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon''
*2019: ''The Sound of Silence''
*2019: ''Impossible Monsters''
*2019: ''In The Campfire Light''
*2020: '' It Cuts Deep''

Television

*1995: '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' (voice)
*2000–2001: '' Between the Lions'' – Babs Caplan
*2000–2002: ''Spy Groove'' (voice)
*2003: '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''
*2003: '' Third Watch''
*2015: '' Happyish'' – Boots (voice), Ma Keebler (voice) (2 episodes)
*2016: '' High Maintenance''
*2017: ''Happy!'' – Mrs. Claws
*2018: '' Gotham'' – Gertrude Haverstock (Episode ""That's Entertainment")

Videogame

*2008: '' Grand Theft Auto IV'' – Gertrude Leneau, The Crowd of Liberty City
*2013: ''Grand Theft Auto V'' – Additional Voices
*2016: '' Mafia III'' – Additional Voices

References

External links

Official website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Alison
American stage actresses
American women singers
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
People from Manhattan
Living people
Actresses from New York City
Singers from New York City
Actresses from Massachusetts
Musicians from Massachusetts
People from Natick, Massachusetts
Fordham University alumni
Fordham University faculty
Natick High School alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
American women academics
21st-century American women