Isabel Keating (born May 1, 1961) is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and singer. She is known for her performance as

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

in the original Broadway production of '' The Boy from Oz'', which earned her a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a 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

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

Early life and career

Keating was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

on May 1, 1961, Her first landing spot—or at least the first paying one—was with the Little Theatre of Savannah Mini-Rep Company, with whom Keating was performing

children's theatre Children's theatre is a theatre for younger audiences. Children's Theatre or Children's Theater may also refer to: * Theatre for Early Years, blanket term for theatrical events designed for audiences of pre-school children * Youth Theatre Individ ...

as early as the winter of 1983.

Broadway

Keating made her Broadway debut in 2003, in '' Enchanted April''. She replaced

Molly Ringwald Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and '' The Facts of Life'' (both 1979–1980) before being nominated for ...

in the role of Rose Arnott after having created the leading role of Lotty Wilton in the play's world-premiere production at Hartford Stage Company in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. Keating is widely acclaimed for her portrayal of

in the 2003 Broadway production of '' The Boy From Oz'', in which she starred opposite

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

(who played Peter Allen). For her performance she received a

nomination and won a

and Theatre World Award. She joined the Broadway cast of ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'', directed by Jack O'Brien, in the role of Velma Von Tussle in June 2006 and stayed with the production through August 2007. Keating played Peter Parker's

Aunt May Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...

and other characters in the Broadway production of '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', directed by

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...

. From 2014 to 2015, Keating appeared on Broadway in

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," M ...

's hit comedy ''

It's Only a Play ''It's Only a Play'' is a play by Terrence McNally. The play originally opened off-off-Broadway in 1982. It was revived off-Broadway in 1986, and on Broadway in 2014. The plot concerns a party where a producer, playwright, director, actors and ...

'', directed by Jack O'Brien. She played Madame Morrible in '' Wicked'' on Broadway from January through November 2018 after performing the same role in the U.S. National Tour. In 2024, she returned to Broadway in '' Doubt: A Parable'' as the understudy for Sister Aloysius, but later temporarily took over the role in early previews, replacing

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress whose six-decade career included many leading roles in movies and theater. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of ...

, who departed the production after a medical emergency.

Other theatre

Keating has performed at Theatre Previews at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, where she starred in

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

's ''On the March to the Sea'' opposite Chris Noth,

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

, Richard Easton,

Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is an American actress, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama ...

and

Harris Yulin Harris Bart Goldberg (November 5, 1937 – June 10, 2025), known professionally as Harris Yulin, was an American actor who appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Night Moves'' (1975; filmed in 1973) with Gene Hack ...

; at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, in

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. It centres on the figure of Henry Wilfred Carr, Henry Carr, an old man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during World War I, the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he w ...

'' opposite

Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television, and film. He has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actor ...

; and at the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...

, in

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in southwestern Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey, and part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's ...

, in

Wendy Kesselman Wendy Kesselman is an American playwright. Life Wendy Kesselman joined the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1980. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts Wellfleet is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable Co ...

's stage version of '' The Diary of Anne Frank''. She won the 2000 Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress for her performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''

Indian Ink India ink (British English: Indian ink; also Chinese ink) is a simple black or coloured ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing and outlining, especially when inking comic books and comic strips. In ...

'' at the

Studio Theatre A black box theater is a performance space, typically a square or rectangular room, with black walls and a black, flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interact ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Keating appeared as Vi in Lucinda Coxon's ''Waiting at the Water's Edge'' in its American premiere, directed by Nela Wagman for the Watermark Theatre Company, and played the Duchess of Berwick in the

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

comedy ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...

'' directed by

Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan American theater director, filmmaker, playwright, founder of Tectonic Theater Project based in New York City, and co-founder of Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre. He was awarded the ...

in 2005 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Film and television

Keating co-starred in '' Indignation''— James Schamus's feature film directorial début, based on

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

—opposite Logan Lerman and

Sarah Gadon Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and '' Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...

. The film premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in January 2016 and was theatrically released on July 29, 2016. She has guest-starred in episodes of '' 3 lbs'' (2006), '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2008), '' The Path'' (2016), and ''

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

'' (2021) and appeared in films including '' The Nanny Diaries'' and ''

The Life Before Her Eyes ''The Life Before Her Eyes'' is a 2007 American psychological drama film directed by Vadim Perelman. The screenplay was adapted by Emil Stern from the Laura Kasischke novel of the same name. The film stars Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. Th ...

''.

Acting credits

Theatre

Film and television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Isabel Keating homepage
* *
Isabel Keating Interview by Beth Stevens on Broadway.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Isabel 1961 births Actresses from New York (state) Actresses from Savannah, Georgia American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American people of Moroccan descent American stage actresses American television actresses Drama Desk Award winners Living people Theatre World Award winners 21st-century American women