Carmen Cusack (born April 25, 1971) is an American musical theater actress and singer. She is known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, North American Tour, and Melbourne productions of the musical '' Wicked'' and for originating the roles of Alice Murphy and

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...

in the Broadway musicals '' Bright Star'' and '' Flying Over Sunset'', respectively. Her performance in ''Bright Star'', which was her Broadway debut, was highly praised and earned her a

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 ce ...

nomination and a 2016

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre s ...

. She received a second Tony Award nomination for her performance in ''Flying Over Sunset''.

Early life

Cusack attended the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal Schoo ...

and graduated with a performing arts degree. She trained in opera, ballet, jazz and tap. Cusack is married to actor Paul Telfer. After completing her degree, Cusack accepted a job on the MS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', which changed the course of her career. In

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, England, she had her breakthrough role as Christine Daae in ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

''. Soon after this, she made her

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

debut as Fantine in ''

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 original ...

''. She also appeared in the original West End productions of ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in '' The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels an ...

'' and '' Personals''.

Career

''Wicked''

Cusack returned to America, and on December 12, 2006, joined the Chicago production of '' Wicked'' as the standby for the lead role of Elphaba. Impressed with her portrayal of the character, the producers asked her to star in the lead role on the show's first national tour, beginning in November 2007. Her role as standby was taken over by Jennifer DiNoia. Cusack began performances on tour, replacing

Victoria Matlock Victoria Matlock (born in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American musical theatre actress. She appeared in the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of ''Million Dollar Quartet (musical), Million Dollar Quartet'' in the role of Dyanne. She has bee ...

, on November 6, 2007. She starred alongside Katie Rose Clarke as

Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Cou ...

. After spending one year on tour, she left on November 2, 2008, and was replaced by Donna Vivino, who had been her standby. Cusack was next seen in the Melbourne, Australia production, as the temporary standby for Elphaba. Amanda Harrison had taken a break from the show due to illness, and the standby, Jemma Rix, had been given the lead role. Cusack was with the company from June 10 to July 10, 2009. She exited the company to begin rehearsals for ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

''.

Other roles

In 2009, Cusack played Nellie Forbush in the first national tour of ''

''. Based on the 2008 Broadway revival, performances began September 18, 2009 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. For this role Cusack was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non Resident Production. In 2012, she played the role of Miss Gardner in the

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 th ...

revival of '' Carrie: The Musical'', which began performances at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on January 31, 2012. ''Carrie'' played a limited run until April 8, 2012. In 2013, Cusack played the role of Mother in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's critically acclaimed production of ''Ragtime''. Cusack appeared as Dot/Marie in the

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare ...

production of ''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande ...

'' from September 26 to November 4, 2012, opposite Jason Danieley. Cusack appeared as Annie in the production of the new musical '' First Wives Club'', based on the film of the same name, beginning in February 2015. The musical played at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, through the end of March 2015. Cusack portrayed

in the new musical '' Flying Over Sunset'', directed by

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

. The production, which was originally planned to open in March 2020, was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and rescheduled to begin previews in November 2021 at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater. The production opened on December 13, 2021 and closed on January 16, 2022. Cuscack's performance earned her a second nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In July 2022, Cusack starred as Mrs. Lovett in

The Muny The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first ...

production of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''.

''Bright Star''

Cusack originated the role of Alice Murphy in the new musical '' Bright Star,'' written and composed by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominat ...

and

Edie Brickell Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's '' Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums char ...

. She has been with the show since its workshop in July 2013 at the Powerhouse Theatre at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

in Poughkeepsie, New York. Cusack performed in the show's world premiere at the

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

in San Diego in September 2014. She continued her role during its tryout run in Washington, D.C., from December 2015 to January 2016. Cusack made her Broadway debut in ''Bright Star'', which opened on March 24, 2016. For her performance, Cusack won a

. She also received nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, 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 newsp ...

for Best Actress in a Musical, the

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

for Distinguished Performance, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Cusack reprised the role of Alice during the musical's North American tour stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

Film and television

In 2018, Cusack appeared as Sabrina in James Ponsoldt's critically acclaimed

Facebook Watch Facebook Watch is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and was available to all U.S. users that month. Facebook Watch's original ...

dramedy '' Sorry for Your Loss'' and was cast opposite

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

in Marielle Heller's

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...

biopic '' A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood''. In 2019, Cusack was cast as a series regular on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

's '' Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist''. On August 27, 2019, it was announced that

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...

had replaced Cusack on the show in the role of Joan.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Carmen Living people American musical theatre actresses Actresses from Denver University of North Texas College of Music alumni 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 1971 births Theatre World Award winners