Rebecca Luker
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Rebecca Luker (born April 17, 1961) is an American musical theatre actress and soprano who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions.
[edit] Biography
Luker was born in Helena, Alabama, near Birmingham. She attended the University of Montevallo, earning a B.A. in music, taking a year off to perform with the Michigan Opera Theatre in 1984.[1]
Luker's Broadway debut was in The Phantom of the Opera as an understudy to Sarah Brightman and eventual replacement for Christine (1988-91). Subsequent roles included Lily in The Secret Garden (1991-93), Magnolia in Show Boat (1994-97; the first actress to be nominated for a Tony Award for this role)[2], Maria in The Sound of Music (1998-99), Marian in The Music Man (2000-01), and Claudia in Nine (2003). Currently she can be seen as Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins (2006-08).
Luker has been nominated for three Tony Awards. Two for Leading Actress in a Musical - once for Show Boat (a unique Tony nomination year, only Ms. Luker and Glenn Close were nominated) and once for The Music Man. Her role in Mary Poppins garnered her a 2007 Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a musical. In addition, she has been nominated for two Drama Desk Awards for The Secret Garden and The Music Man. Her roles have achieved her critical acclaim and comparisons to actresses such as Barbara Cook and Julie Andrews.[3]
Ms. Luker appeared in the Off-Broadway plays The Vagina Monologues, Indian Summer, and Can't Let Go.
Her TV appearances include Matlock, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the Hallmark movie Cupid & Cate.
Among many recordings, Ms. Luker is well known for being featured on the Aria albums by Paul Schwartz.
Luker married Danny Burstein in 2000 and has two stepsons.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gates, Anita. Playing It Sweet, If She Needs To, Or Sexy-Funny. The New York Times, March 8, 1998. Retrieved October 14, 2006.
- ^ IBDB biography
- ^ Holden, Stephen. The Ghosts of Broadway, Past and Future. The New York Times, December 14, 2005. Retrieved October 14, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Rebecca Luker at the Internet Broadway Database
- Rebecca Luker at the Internet Movie Database
- Rebecca Luker Downstage Center XM radio interview by the American Theatre Wing, January 2007
- Playbill article DIVA TALK: Chatting with Rebecca Luker, April 2006
- Rebecca Luker interview: Performance Working in the Theatre CUNY-TV video at American Theatre Wing, September 2003
- 2006 review from NY Times
