Shoshana Bean
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| Shoshana Bean | |
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| Born | Shoshana Elise Bean September 1, 1977 Olympia, Washington |
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Shoshana Elise Bean (born September 1, 1977) is an American stage actress and singer known for her roles in Broadway musicals during the 2000s. She is best known for playing Elphaba on Broadway in the musical Wicked during 2005.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Bean was born in Olympia, Washington and grew up in Beaverton, Oregon. There she graduated from Beaverton High School. Bean studied voice, dance, and songwriting from an early age. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Shoshana was roommates with Kristy Cates and the two are friends.[1]
[edit] Career
Shortly after moving to New York City, she was cast in the Off-Broadway revival of Godspell. Bean subsequently performed in the national tour of Leader of the Pack. She was also an original cast member in the Tony Award-winning production of Broadway's Hairspray, originating the role of "Shelley" and understudying the roles of "Tracy Turnblad," "Velma Von Tussle," and "Prudy Pingleton."
Her greatest fame came when she was cast as the replacement for Tony Award winner Idina Menzel in Broadway's Wicked. She was originally a standby for Menzel before she started her official year-long run as 'Elphaba' on January 11, 2005. However, Bean began performances January 8, 2005 due to an injury Menzel sustained. Bean finished her run in the Broadway company on January 8, 2006 and was replaced by Eden Espinosa.
Bean reprised the role of Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked for a brief run in the fall of 2006. She was joined by former co-star Megan Hilty. Bean departed the touring cast on December 31, 2006. Since leaving Wicked Bean has recorded vocals for the film soundtrack to Hairspray as well as Enchanted, a film which incidentally also features Idina Menzel. Bean is currently writing, recording, and promoting her debut album in Los Angeles.
[edit] Relationship with Megan Hilty
Shoshana joined the Wicked cast in late 2004, as the standby to Idina Menzel. She shared a dressing room with fellow Wicked newcomer Megan Hilty, the Glinda standby. According to the girls, a fast friendship was formed. By June of 2005, they had both taken over as principals. They worked together until Bean departed the company in January in 2006. Hilty commented that working with Shoshana had truly changed her life, and she had learned so much from her.
In September, the girls reunited to perform in the national tour. They had the opportunity to perform for both their hometowns, before working in Toronto, Canada through December 2006, after which time they both left the touring company.
In March of 2008, Shoshana and Megan revealed they were planning a variety show together, entitled the Meg an' Sho Show. They have done two concerts thus far. In an interview, Bean remarked on how fortunate she felt to have been able to perform so closely with an actual friend, both in Wicked and in future concerts. [2] "I've always felt very protective of Megan, and I don't think that comes along by accident. I don't think it comes along that often in a lifetime."
[edit] References
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2008943/bio
[edit] External links
- www.shoshanabean.com- official website
- Official MySpace Page
- Shoshana Bean at the Internet Movie Database
