Laila Robins

Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress.

Life and career

Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents^[1] Brigita (née Švarcs) and Jānis, whose surname was originally spelled Robiņš. Her father was a research chemist. Robins has three sisters.^[2] She attended the Yale School of Drama, (MFA) and received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, (BA). Robins has been in a relationship with the actor Robert Cuccioli since 2000. They co-starred in Macbeth at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; he was Macbeth, and she was Lady Macbeth.^[3][4]

Robins has won several awards for her work including the Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award, the Helen Hayes Award nomination, the Jefferson Award, the Drama League Award and the Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress.

Theatre

Robins appeared as Lady Utterword in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins' other Broadway appearances were Frozen by Bryony Lavery (2004), The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan (1998), and The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard (1985), directed by Mike Nichols. (Robins succeeded actress Glenn Close in the role).

Robins has appeared off-Broadway in Sore Throats by Howard Brenton, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Mrs. Klein by Nicholas Wright (in which she also toured with Uta Hagen) (1995–1996), Burnt Piano by Justin Fleming and The Film Society by Jon Robin Baitz, among others.

In 1997 she starred in the Fiftieth Anniversary production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Robin also appeared as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 2002. In 2000, she was cast opposite Richard Thomas in the stage revival of Tiny Alice. Robins is also a frequent performer at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where she has starred in Macbeth, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

Charles Isherwood, critic for The New York Times, assessed her stage work as Ariadne in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins played opposite Swoosie Kurtz, and Isherwood described both as such: "...this expert comic actress [Kurtz] may not fit the textbook definition of siren, as Hesione is called, but she may just be the most seductive woman on a New York stage right now...unless that nod goes to Ms. Robins, who locates the essence of her character's shallow allure in a languid, liquid strut and a smile both entrancing and devouring".^[5]

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage appearances

• The Real Thing (1985)...Annie (Replacement); Plymouth Theatre (Broadway)
• Summer and Smoke (1986)...Alma Winemiller; Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA)
• Bloody Poetry (1987)...Mary Shelley; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
• The Film Society (1988)...Nan Sinclair; Second Stage Theatre/McGinn-Cazale Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• The Lady from the Sea (1988)...Cast; Baltimore Center Stage (Baltimore, MD)
• Maids of Honor (1990)...Monica Bowlin; WPA Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• The Extra Man (1992)...Laura; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
• The Women (1993)...Cast; Hartford Stage Company (Hartford, CT)
• The Merchant of Venice (1995)... Portia; Joseph Papp Public Theater/Anspacher Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Mrs. Klein (1996)...Melitta; National Tour
• Mrs. Klein (1995)... Melitta; Lucille Lortel Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Skylight (1997)...Kyra Hollis; Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles, CA)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1997)...Blanche du Bois; Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
• The Herbal Bed (1998)...Susanna Hall; Eugene O'Neill Theatre (Broadway)
• Fool for Love (1999)...May; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
• Tiny Alice (2000)...Cast; Second Stage Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Hedda Gabler (2000)... Hedda Gabler; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Burnt Piano (2001) ...Karen; HB Playwrights Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Three Sisters (2001)...Masha; New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre (Madison, NJ)
• Antony and Cleopatra (2002)...Cleopatra; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Resurrection Blues (2002)...Emily; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Fiction (2003)...Linda; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
• King John (2003)... Constance; New Jersey Shakespeare Theater (Madison, NJ)
• Macbeth (2004)...Lady Macbeth; The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• Frozen (2004)...Agnetha; Circle in the Square Theatre (Broadway)
• Frozen (2004)... Agnetha; MCC Theater (Off-Broadway)
• Heartbreak House (2006)...Lady Utterwood; American Airlines Theatre (Broadway)^[6]
• A Street Car Named Desire (2008) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• Noises Off (2009) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• The Dance of Death (2013) The Red Bull Theater (New York, NY)

References

External links

• Laila Robins at the Internet Movie Database
• Laila Robins at the Internet Broadway Database
• List of stage credits and other information