Laura Osnes

Laura Osnes
Laura Osnes, February 2007 in Los Angeles. Photography by Nathan Johnson
Born	Laura Ann Osnes (1985-11-19) November 19, 1985[1] Burnsville, Minnesota
Occupation	Singer/Actress
Spouse(s)	Nathan Johnson (May 11, 2007-present)

Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985)^[1] is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Biography

Osnes was born in Burnsville, Minnesota, and raised in Eagan, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul.^[2] Her first acting performance was in the second grade, where she played a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. She attended Eagan High School. Laura attended the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point for one year as a Musical Theatre major, before dropping out to pursue a professional career.

In 2005–2006 she returned to Minneapolis to be a performing apprentice at the Children's Theatre Company, performing in Working, Aladdin Jr., Prom, and Pippi Longstocking. She also played the lead of Sandy in Grease at the nation's largest dinner theatre, the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, but her run was cut short when she was chosen to compete in the nationally televised Broadway talent competition Grease: You're the One that I Want!.

Osnes is married to Nathan Johnson (as shown in the March 18, 2007 episode of Grease: You're the One that I Want!), whom she met when both were understudies on Aladdin. They were originally planning to marry on March 24 and honeymoon in Aruba, but postponed the wedding so that she could participate in the competition. Because the schedule conflicted with March 25, 2007 episode, they rescheduled the wedding to May 11, 2007, and now reside in Manhattan.

Grease: You're the One that I Want!

Laura Osnes was nicknamed "Small Town Sandy" in the show, even though Eagan is a large suburb of St. Paul, a major U.S. city. She was a favorite to win during the entire course of the show, never showing up in the "sing-off" bottom two during the show's run. She was named the winner on March 25, 2007, which meant she would perform the lead character of Sandy opposite Max Crumm, the show's male competitor who won the role of "Danny".

Osnes and Crumm played their final performances as Sandy and Danny on July 20, 2008, and they were succeeded by Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeling, two of the runners-up of Grease: You're the One that I Want!.^[3]

Post-Grease

Osnes starred in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Broadway: Three Generations, a three-act evening featuring condensed versions of Girl Crazy, Bye Bye Birdie, and Side Show. The show was presented at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater October 2–5, 2008.^[4] She then played Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennet for the concert version of the new Broadway-aimed musical Pride & Prejudice (musical) that was presented October 21, 2008 at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York.^[5] In early December Osnes returned home to Minneapolis and performed in a local Christmas pageant. On January 11, 2009 she took part in the Rock Tenor Showcase, a showcase of a new concert experience that melds classical and Broadway music with rock-n-roll songs, at the Florence Gould Hall in Manhattan,^[6] and then sang at Dreamlight Theatre Company's "Bright Lights" concert series on the evening of January 26 entitled A Night with The Ladies.^[7]

Broadway career

On March 10, 2009, Osnes took over the role of Ensign Nellie Forbush in the Lincoln Center Theater Broadway revival of South Pacific. She stayed with the show through October 4, 2009, when the show's original star, Kelli O'Hara, returned from maternity leave.^[8]

She then starred as Bonnie Parker in the world premiere of Bonnie & Clyde; the musical played at the La Jolla Playhouse from Nov. 10 to Dec. 20, 2009.^[9][10]

Osnes returned to the role of Nellie Forbush in the Broadway production of South Pacific on January 5, 2010. She played her final performance on August 8, 2010. O'Hara once again returned to the production two days later to film the "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast of the show.^[11][12]

Osnes reprised the role of Bonnie Parker in Bonnie & Clyde at the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota, Florida in November and December 2010.

She then played Hope Harcourt in the Broadway revival of Anything Goes, which began previews on March 10, 2011 and officially opened on April 7, 2011 starring Sutton Foster and Joel Grey.^[13] For this role Osnes received nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical^[14] as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.^[15] She was also nominated for an Astaire Award for excellence in dance. Osnes departed the production on September 11, 2011.^[16]

Beginning previews on November 4, 2011 with a December 1 opening night, Osnes once again played Bonnie Parker, this time on Broadway as Bonnie & Clyde made its Broadway debut at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. She was joined by her Asolo Rep castmate Jeremy Jordan as Clyde Barrow.^[17] Other cast members included Melissa van der Schyff (2003's Big River) as Blanche Barrow, Claybourne Elder (Road Show) as Buck Barrow, and Louis Hobson (Next to Normal) as Ted Hinton.^[18] Despite a generally positive audience reception, due to negative critics' reviews and lackluster ticket sales the show closed on December 30, 2011.

Osnes then performed at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors in a tribute to Barbara Cook alongside Sutton Foster, Rebecca Luker, Kelli O'Hara, Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, and Audra McDonald.^[19]

In January 2012, she played the title character in an industry-only reading of a reworked adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Cinderella.^[20] She then led the Encores! production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pipe Dream, based on John Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday. Under the direction of Marc Bruni, the production ran from March 28 to April 1, 2012.^[21]

On April 24, 2012, Osnes headlined a benefit performance of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall as Maria Rainer. Also featured were Tony Goldwyn as Captain von Trapp, Brooke Shields as Elsa Schraeder and Patrick Page as Max Detweiler. In August 2012, it was announced that Cinderella would begin performances at the Broadway Theatre on January 21, 2013; performances were later rescheduled and officially began January 25, 2013, with a March 3 opening night.^[22] Osnes was awarded a 2013 Drama Desk award and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in Cinderella. She concluded her run on January 26, 2014 and was replaced by Carly Rae Jepsen.^[23]

Osnes is set to star in the Atlantic Theatre Company's revival of The Threepenny Opera from March to May 2014.^[24]

Broadway credits

¤ = Tony Award nomination.

Television and Film

In 2011 Osnes was cast in the pilot for HBO's The Miraculous Year, starring Lee Pace, Susan Sarandon, Patti LuPone, Eddie Redmayne and Norbert Leo Butz; the show was not picked up by the network. In 2013, she voiced a guest spot for the Nickelodeon children's show Team Umizoomi and appeared in an episode of the CBS television series Elementary.

Discography

Awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laura Osnes.

• Laura Osnes at the Internet Broadway Database
• Laura Osnes at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview about her role in SOUTH PACIFIC
• NBC profile
• Chanhassen Dinner Theatres
• "Could the next Sandy be from Burnsville? NBC will find out", January 19, 2007, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
• Mpls.-St. Paul Magazine Article
• Laura singing the National Anthem at the Minnesota Twins Game
• Laura Osnes Playbill Vault
• Laura Osnes: IF I TELL YOU - Songs of Maury Yeston PS Classics