Lea Michele
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| Lea Michele | |
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| Born | Lea Michelle July 29, 1986 Bronx, New York, U.S. |
Lea Michele (born on July 29, 1986 in New York City) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her roles in Broadway musicals in the 90s and 2000s, most recently her performance as Wendla Bergman in Spring Awakening.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Lea Michele was born in The Bronx, New York as Lea Michele Sarfati and grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey.[2] She is an only child.[3]
[edit] Career
Michele debuted on Broadway in 1995 as a replacement cast member of the original production of Les Miserables (Young Cosette). This was followed by her creation of the role of Tateh's daughter, the Little Girl, in the 1998 original Broadway cast of Ragtime. In 2004, Michele played "Shprintze" and "Chava" in the revival of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Regionally she has appeared in The Diary of Anne Frank as Anne.
Michele's television appearances to date include Third Watch and Guiding Light.
At age 14, Michele won the role of Wendla in the workshop for Duncan Sheik's musical version of Spring Awakening.[4] She was part of two subsequent workshops for the same part, and performed in the show Off-Broadway and was eventually offered the chance to originate the Broadway role in 2006. Around the same time, she was invited to perform the role of Eponine in the Broadway revival of Les Miserables. She chose to remain with Spring Awakening, which debuted on Broadway December 10, 2006. (The part of Eponine went to Celia Keenan-Bolger.) In April 2007 Michele was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance in Spring Awakening, as Lead Actress in a Musical.[5]
On May 18, 2008, Lea Michele left Spring Awakening with co-star Jonathan Groff and was replaced by former Wendla understudy and ensemble member Alexandra Socha. On August 8th, 9th, and 10th, Michele will portray Eponine in the Hollywood Bowl's Les Miserables concert.
Michele can be heard on the original Broadway cast recordings of Ragtime and Spring Awakening, as well as the 2004 Revival of "Fiddler on the Roof".
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Drama Desk Awards
- Nomination - 2007 Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Spring Awakening)[4]
[edit] Broadway.com Audience Award
- Nomination 2007: Broadway.com Audience Award nomination for Favorite Leading Actress in a Broadway Musical, Spring Awakening
- Nomination 2007: Broadway.com Audience Award nomination for Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Female), Spring Awakening winner
- Nomination 2007: Broadway.com Audience Award nomination for Favorite Onstage Pair (with Jonathan Groff), Spring Awakening[3] winner
[edit] Grammy Awards
- Nomination 2008 : Best Musical Show Album Spring Awakening (musical)
[edit] References
- ^ Original Cast biographies, Spring Awakening, Broadway Musical Playbill. December 10, 2006.
- ^ Tropia, Joe. "Lea Michele", Broadway.com. Accessed May 30, 2008. "Hometown: Tenafly, New Jersey."
- ^ a b Lea Michele, Star File: Broadway.com Buzz
- ^ a b Drama Desk Official website
- ^ D. Rooney. "Musicals pose Tony voting crunch," April 26, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official Site of the Broadway production.
- Atlantic Theater Company website with information about the off-Broadway production.
- Michael Mayer (director) - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org, July 2006
- Opening Night: Spring Awakening at Broadway.com
