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Nikki Snelson (born Nicole Snelson) is an American actress, who works mainly in stage musicals.


Biography

Snelson is originally from
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...
and received her training at the
Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founde ...
. Snelson's first major 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 Stree ...
came as "Winnie Tate" in the 1999 Broadway revival of
Annie Get Your Gun (musical) ''Annie Get Your Gun'' is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860–1926), a sharpshooter who starred ...
, opposite
Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...
. She also appeared on Broadway in the revival of
Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is base ...
in 2005, starring
Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...
. In 2007, Snelson originated the role of exercise queen "Brooke Wyndam" in the world premiere of the musical '' Legally Blonde: The Musical'' in San Francisco. She performed the same role in the Broadway production at the
Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria * Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...
, opening in April 2007. She can be heard on the cast recording of the show, and was also in the MTV Broadcast, as well as the reality casting show '' Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods''. In 2008, she left the company of ''Legally Blonde'' to join the National tour of ''
A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dan ...
'', as "Cassie", starting in May 2008. She was requested to audition for the role of Cassie, after she had tried out the role of Val for the Broadway revival before. She then appeared in '' 42nd Street'' at
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 ...
in
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in June 2009, as "Annie", opposite
Robert Cuccioli Robert Cuccioli (born May 3, 1958) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for originating the lead dual title roles in the musical ''Jekyll and Hyde'', for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won the Joseph Jefferson Award, th ...
. Snelson originated the role of the
Mad Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel '' Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Ca ...
in the world premiere of the new
Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the #1 International hit song " Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whi ...
musical '' Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure''. The musical had its world premiere on November 24, 2009 in previews and officially December 5, 2009 at
The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1987 as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and was renamed in 2009. The Straz Center is located downtown on a site along the e ...
,
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...
, Florida, and opened at the
Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
on January 15, 2010. While the plot of the show was reviewed poorly (though the production good), Snelson received great reviews for her portrayal, which featured her performing difficult choreography (by Marguerite Derricks) while singing "high energy" Wildhorn tunes. Tampa Bay Online says Snelson "gives a knock-out performance." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' added that Snelson played the Hatter "deliciously wicked." However, before its Broadway production, the musical's creators altered the role of the Hatter drastically, including taking out the dancing, cutting out the sarcastic dialogues, as well as replacing her signature song "Nick of Time," and decided to replace Snelson. In an interview following this, Snelson said "it was a wonderful experience for me, and I will forever be heartbroken." She took part in a reading of a new musical ''Sphinx Winx'' on March 15, 2010 in New York. The musical has music and lyrics by Kenneth Hitchner, Jr. and a book by Phillip Capice, Bob Keuch and Anne Hitchner.Gans, Andre
"Sphinx Winx Readings, with Anderson, Bolton, Dalton, Hurlbert, Snelson, Presented March 15"
''Playbill'', March 15, 2010
;Television and Film Snelson has appeared in several television shows, including as a guest on ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a to ...
'' (2005) and as "Chelsea" on ABC's ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...
'' (2004). Snelson played herself in the movie ''Every Little Step'' and auditioned for the part of Val, but did not get the part. She was offered a role in the CW's ''
Valentine A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...
'', but her contract with the ''Chorus Line'' national tour forbid her from leaving, as the producers threatened to sue.


References


External links


Official Website
* *
Internet Off-Broadway database listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snelson, Nikki American musical theatre actresses Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Actresses from St. Louis Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women