Mary Testa is an American stage and film actress. She is a three-time

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 ...

nominee, for performances in revivals of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

's '' On the Town'' (1998), '' 42nd Street'' (2001) and''

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'' (2019).

Early life

Testa was born in Philadelphia and has one sister. At age four, her family moved to Rhode Island.Buckley, Michael
"Stage to Screens: A Chat with Mary Testa"
Playbill, December 21, 2003, accessed December 19, 2014 She studied acting at the University of Rhode Island. Testa left school to move to New York in 1976 to pursue a performing career.Gans, Andrew
"Diva Talk: Chatting with ''Xanadu's'' Mary Testa Plus News of Buckley, Kuhn and Callaway"
Playbill, August 3, 2007, accessed December 19, 2014

Stage

Testa made her debut

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 ...

at Playwrights Horizons as Miss Goldberg in

William Finn William Alan Finn (February 28, 1952 – April 7, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist. He was best known for his musicals, which include ''Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Tony Award for Best Original Score, Best O ...

's one-act musical '' In Trousers'' (1979), part one of his "Marvin Trilogy." She next performed in Finn's '' March of the Falsettos'', and later in ''

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'', at Playwrights. Her Broadway roles include Joyce Heth in '' Barnum'' (1982), movie columnist Hedda Hopper in '' Marilyn: An American Fable'' (1983), Angel in '' The Rink'' (1984), Domina in '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1996–1997), Madame Dilly in '' On the Town'' (1998), Magdalena in '' Marie Christine'', Maggie Jones in '' 42nd Street'' (2001–2002), the Matron in ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'' (2005), Melpomene in '' Xanadu'' (2007–2008), General Matilda B. Cartwright in '' Guys and Dolls'' (2009), Madame Morrible in '' Wicked'' (2014), and Aunt Eller in ''

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'' (2019). She is a frequent collaborator with such acclaimed musical dramatists as William Finn (''Infinite Joy'', ''A New Brain'', ''In Trousers'') and Michael John LaChiusa (''Marie Christine'', ''See What I Wanna See'', ''First Lady Suite''), while also having appeared in the works of

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, Kander & Ebb, Flaherty & Ahrens, and

, among other Off-Broadway and regional theatre credits. She also frequently performs in concerts and cabaret shows. On December 28, 2020, it was announced that Testa would star as Skinner in a benefit concert presentation of '' Ratatouille the Musical'', an

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that originated on

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, inspired by the 2007

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/ Pixar

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. The concert streamed exclusively on TodayTix on January 1, 2021.

Film, television and recording

Testa made her film debut in '' Going in Style'' (1979), and has appeared in numerous movie and television roles since, including Sophia in the 2003 sitcom '' Whoopi'', Zia Maria Luisa in the 2014 film '' Big Stone Gap'', and Sister Clare in the 2004 film adaptation of '' Tony n' Tina's Wedding''. She also appeared in such films as '' The Business of Strangers'' (2001), '' Stay'' (2005), '' Eat Pray Love'' (2010), '' The Bounty Hunter'' (2010) and the TV series '' Law & Order, Whoopi's Littleburg, 2 Broke Girls, Smash, White Collar, Cosby,

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'', and ''

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''. From 1999 to 2002 she appeared frequently as the voice of Shirley the Medium on '' Courage the Cowardly Dog''. In addition to her show albums, Testa and Michael Starobin released an album, ''Have Faith'', in 2014. It contains contemporary interpretations of songs by artists such as

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

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, Finn and LaChiusa.Holdenjan, Stephen. Music Review; "Fleeting Sweetness, and Pits; Mary Testa, Onstage With Selections From Have Faith". ''New York Times''. January 6, 2015

Selected stage credits

Selected concert appearances

*''Broadway Unplugged 2004'' ("Hard-Hearted Hannah: The Vamp of Savannah") *''Broadway Unplugged 2005'' ("The Thrill is Gone") *''The Broadway Musicals of 1930'' ("I Happen to Like New York" and "My First Love—My Last Love") *''The Broadway Musicals of 1933'' ("I'll Be Hard to Handle" and "Harlem on My Mind")

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Testa, Mary 1955 births American stage actresses American musical theatre actresses Living people American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Philadelphia Actresses from Rhode Island University of Rhode Island alumni