Molly Ranson is an American actress and singer. She was born in New York City.

Stage career

Ranson made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning production of '' August: Osage County'' in 2007. She joined the cast of ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

'' on Broadway in 2011, as Pea. The show started in 2009 at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

in London and moved to the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in the West End in 2010, and starred

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

both in the UK and on Broadway. She originated the role of Melody in the play ''

Bad Jews ''Bad Jews'' is a dark comedy play by Joshua Harmon. After a beloved grandfather dies in New York, leaving a treasured piece of religious jewelry that he succeeded in hiding even from the Nazis during the Holocaust, cousins fight over not only ...

'' in 2013. Ranson took part as Carrie White in the 2009 reading of the revival of the musical ''Carrie'', alongside

Sutton Foster Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical seven times, winning in 2002 for her role as ...

and

Marin Mazzie Marin Joy Mazzie (October 9, 1960 – September 13, 2018) was an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theatre. Mazzie was a three-time Tony Award nominee, for her performances as Clara in '' Passion'' (1994), Mother in ''R ...

. The hope was to make the show ready for Broadway, after its flop in 1988, when it closed after only 5 performances. After the new reading the show finally opened Off Broadway at the

Lucille Lortel Theatre The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior design is large ...

in 2010. In 2015 Ranson was cast as Natalie Drexel in the comedy ''

Fish in the Dark ''Fish in the Dark'' is a play by Larry David that focuses on fifteen characters as they deal with a death in the family. The play premiered on Broadway in 2015. History Larry David got the idea for the play from his friend and lawyer Lloyd Bra ...

'', with

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

playing Norman Drexel. When the show was extended, the role was taken over for six weeks by

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...

. In 2022 Ranson starred as the character Molly in ''

Prayer for the French Republic ''Prayer for the French Republic'' is a 2022 dramatic stage play by American playwright Joshua Harmon. It centers on a Jewish family living in France as they struggle with their identity due to rising tensions from anti-Semitic attacks. The pla ...

'', while rehearsing for ''

Plaza Suite ''Plaza Suite'' is a comedy play by Neil Simon. Plot The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act, ''Visitor From Mamaroneck'', introduces the a ...

'', which opened right after the first closed. She was asked to take part in ''Prayer'' back when in grad school by playwright Joshua Harmon, who had just started writing the play at the time. The show is a family drama, presenting various aspects of the life of the Jewish Benhamous in contemporary Paris (2016-2017) as well as the earlier generation of the Salomons, using the same apartment space during WWII. Ranson reprised this role when MTC mounted the play again in 2024 on Broadway.

Theatre

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranson, Molly American stage actresses American musical theatre actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from New York City 21st-century American actresses