| Jennifer Hope Wills | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 8, 1973 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Website | |
| http://jenniferhopewills.com/ | |
Jennifer Hope Wills (born May 8, 1973 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American actress and soprano singer. She was the first child of William and Sue Wills. She made her stage debut at the age of 1 in a production of Rumplestiltskin performed by the Baltimore Actor's Theatre.
The family moved to Ocean City, Maryland where her parents established a live children's theater. Parker Playhouse opened in 1978 and over time became a favorite of the city's many summertime visitors. Jennifer performed in almost every production the theater company produced. Her parents now run Presidents and Their First Ladies Dramatically Speaking, a production company that performs nationwide and provides great insight to the personal lives of our many presidents and their wives.
Wills attended Salisbury State University. While at the university she continued to improve her acting abilities by performing in several productions to include West Side Story and The Secret Garden. After graduating she earned her master's degree and for a few years taught voice.
Wills eventually found her way to New York City and jumped right into the daily grind of being an actor. After many ups, downs, regional and local performances she was finally offered her first big break, when she became an understudy for the production of Beauty and the Beast. She also was part of the ensemble when performing her duties as the understudy.
After some time, Wills was offered to co-star opposite Brooke Shields in the production of Wonderful Town. She accepted the role and enjoyed a great albeit brief run of six months. The exposure she received from this was huge. During this time Wills was asked to participate in the recording of a second cast album for the show.[1]
Upon the closing of Wonderful Town, Wills found herself without work but willing to do what she needed to do in order to continue doing what she loved the most. She accepted a role in the ensemble of The Woman in White. However, this production was short lived and was soon cancelled.
From Woman in White, Wills was asked to audition for the alternate in the role of Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera. Soon after auditioning she was offered the role. A few months into her run she was asked to take on the principal position in the Canadian tour of the show. She accepted and for 10 weeks she travelled around Canada performing in several different cities. Upon her return to New York, she was asked to accept the principal position in the Broadway production. She accepted and enjoyed rave reviews from her interpretation of the role.[2][3][4]
Wills left the production in August 2008 on a personal leave, but as of June 2, 2009 has returned to the production and continued the role of Christine. Jennifer played her last performance, along with her co-star John Cudia, on September 4th. She was replaced by Sara Jean Ford.