Dorothy Emmerson is an American actress and singer who was active in the New York City theatre scene during the 1960s and 1970s. She first appeared in the ensembles of the original 1963

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I ...

musical '' Zenda'' and the 1965

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 ...

Revival of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

''. She next starred for a couple years in the long running

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 ...

production ''

The Mad Show ''The Mad Show'' is an Off-Broadway musical revue based on '' Mad'' magazine. The music is by Mary Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim, the book by Larry Siegel and Stan Hart. The show's various lyricists include Siegel, Marshall Barer, Steven Vinave ...

'' at the New Theater. In 1968 she portrayed her first featured role on

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 ...

, Eileen Higby in the original production of Paul Nassau and

Oscar Brand Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...

's ''

The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N ''The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N'' is a musical with lyrics and music by Oscar Brand and Paul Nassau. The musical book by Benjamin Bernard Zavin is based on Leo Rosten's stories of the fictional character Hyman Kaplan. Background The s ...

''. This was followed by her portrayal of Rita in the original production of

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

's '' Jimmy Shine'' in 1968–1969, where she shared the stage with

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

and

Rue McClanahan Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles on television sitcoms, including Maude (TV series)#Characters, Vivian Cavender Harmon on ''Maude (TV series), Maude'' (1972–78), ...

. In 1970 Emmerson portrayed the role of Mary in the original production of Ron Clark and

Sam Bobrick Sam Bobrick (July 24, 1932 – October 11, 2019) was an American author, playwright, television writer, and lyricist. Early life Bobrick was born to a Jewish family in Chicago on July 24, 1932. His father was a storekeeper and his mother worked ...

's ''

Norman, Is That You? ''Norman, Is That You?'' is a 1970 play in two acts by American playwrights Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick about a Jewish couple coming to terms with their son's homosexuality. The work is notably the first play written by both writers. After 19 p ...

'' at the Lyceum Theatre, sharing the stage with

Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades becoming one of the few actors to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award ...

. She returned to Broadway for the last time as Arlene Miller in the 1979 play ''

Murder at the Howard Johnson's ''Murder at the Howard Johnson's'' is a 1979 play in two acts by American playwrights Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick. The production officially opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre after 10 preview performances on May 17, 1979; closing just ...

'', standing in for

Joyce Van Patten Joyce Van Patten (born March 9, 1934) is an American film and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in films like ''The Bad News Bears'' (1976), '' St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985) (as Mrs. Beamish), and as Gloria Noonan in '' Grown Ups'' (2010) ...

. After the 1970s, Emmerson has spent her career mostly teaching acting and singing. She is currently on the faculty of the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA). A

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, she also occasionally appears in concert and recital, often performing Russian Art Songs.Bio of Dorothy Emmerson at Michael Chekhov Studio
/ref> She is the daughter of diplomat John K. Emmerson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmerson, Dorothy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American musical theatre actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women