Autumn Marie Hurlbert (born 6 March 1980) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Hurlbert is best known as the runner-up on the reality competition series '' Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods''. After taping the competition, Hurlbert served as a member of the Broadway cast in '' Legally Blonde: The Musical'' until its closing on Oct 19, 2008. She also understudied the parts of Elle and Margot on Broadway. Ultimately, Hurlbert did headline as Elle Woods in an October 2012 version of the production, directed by Denis Jones in North Carolina.

Career

Hurlbert grew up in Mesa, Arizona and attended the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

. Hurlbert's credits include the first national tour of the musical ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

'' and numerous regional and touring credits, including: Belle in '' Beauty & the Beast'', Eponine in '' Les Miserablés'', and Perón's Mistress in '' Evita''. In 2009, Hurlbert was awarded the '' FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Actor'' for originating the role of Abby Lawrence in the comedy ''A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage, 1959''. Hurlbert starred as Rachel Hughes in the 2010 film ''Sudden Death!'', written and directed by Adam Hall as his Masters thesis. In November 2010, Hurlbert appeared with

Phylicia Rashad Phylicia Rashad ( ) ( Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three-year contract ended in May 2024. Known for her roles on stage and scree ...

Marcus Gardley Marcus Gardley (born 1977/1978) is an American poet, playwright and screenwriter from West Oakland, California. He is an ensemble member playwright at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago and an assistant professor of Theater and Performance Studie ...

's new play ''every tongue confess'', directed by

Kenny Leon Kenny Leon is an American director and actor. He is notable for his extensive work on Broadway and television as well as in regional theater. He has received a Tony Award and a Drama League Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy ...

at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Hurlbert received critical acclaim for originating the role of Benny Pride.

Hilton Als Hilton Als (born 1960) is an American writer and theater critic. He is a teaching professor at the University of California, Berkeley, an associate professor of writing at Columbia University and a staff writer and theater critic for ''The New Yo ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' characterized her performance as "phenomenal". Hurlbert made her

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

debut in 2011, starring in the

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

-nominated musical '' Tomorrow Morning'' at the

York Theatre The York Theatre Company is an Off-Broadway theatre company based on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Established in 1969, The York is the only theater in New York City, and one of the few in the world, whose two-fold missio ...

. ''Tomorrow Morning'', with book, music, and lyrics by Laurence Mark Wythe, is a new musical about two couples. In 2012, Hurlbert starred as Sybil in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'' at the Huntington Theater in Boston, directed by Maria Aitken. This production was slated to return to the stage in 2014 at the

Shakespeare Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the William Shakespeare, Shakespeare canon, but its seasons inc ...

, in Washington, D.C. Also in 2012, Hurlbert starred as Elle Woods in '' Legally Blonde: The Musical'' at the North Carolina Theatre. She teamed up again with Hall in 2013 as a scientist named Taylor in the web-series ''Research'', alongside

Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996–2002). Bostwick has also ...

and Doug Jones. Hurlbert played Samantha in the Off-Broadway musical ''Nobody Loves You'' at

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

in 2013. Hurlbert appeared in NBC's ''

The Sound of Music Live! ''The Sound of Music Live!'' is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Directed by Rob Ashford and Beth McCarthy-Miller, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and written by Austin Winsberg, t ...

'' TV special on December 5, 2013, as Dancer #11. In Spring 2014, Hurlbert reprised her role as Sybil in ''Private Lives'', again under the direction of Maria Aiken. This production played at the Lansburg Theatre of the

in Washington, D.C. Hurlbert starred Off-Broadway in ''It's Only Kickball, Stupid'', directed by Adam Fitzgerald in 2014. She began performances as Portia in the US National Tour of '' Something Rotten!'', starting on January 10, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurlbert, Autumn 21st-century American dancers American musical theatre actresses Living people American stage actresses American film actresses People from Great Falls, Montana Actresses from Montana Place of birth missing (living people) Singers from Montana 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers University of Northern Colorado alumni American female dancers Dancers from Montana 21st-century American women singers 1980 births