Danielle Roscioli | |
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Born | Danielle Marie Roscioli July 20, 1977 Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Alma mater | DeSales University (1999) |
Occupation(s) | Singer, stage actress |
Years active | 2000–present |
Dee Roscioli (born Danielle Marie Roscioli on July 20, 1977) is an American singer and actress, who is known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway, Chicago, San Francisco, and national touring productions of the musical Wicked .
Roscioli was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. In 1995, she graduated from Wilson Area High School in Easton. At Wilson High School, she competed in track and field hockey and was involved in chorus, SADD, student council and yearbook. She was a peer helper, new student guide, a member of homecoming court, and qualified for district chorus. For all four years of high school, she participated in drama, and her yearbook states her plans were to attend a four-year college and major in theater. [1]
She graduated from DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania in 1999. While at DeSales, she performed in Act One's production of The Music Man as Marian Paroo and as the beggar woman in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street .[ citation needed ]
From 2000 to 2001, Roscioli originated a lead role in a national touring production of Pokémon Live! as Delia Ketchum and also contributed to the soundtrack in songs such as "I've Got a Secret" and "Everything Changes". [2]
Roscioli was cast in the principal role of "Grizabella" in a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats from 2002 to 2003 and received critical acclaim for her performance. [3] [4] [5] [6]
In 2003, she participated in the off-Broadway US debut of George Gershwin's Primrose which was presented in a concert format. [7] [8]
In 2005, she played "Audrey" in Little Shop of Horrors at Northern Stage. [9] She also participated in the workshop sessions of Behind the Limelight [10] and Dangerous Beauty [11] in New York City.
After leaving Wicked, Roscioli worked on a new musical called Liberty: A Monumental New Musical. In this show, she played the lead, "Liberty". [12]
In late June 2010, Roscioli performed in a sold-out cabaret show Decidedly Dee at the jazz club Birdland. She also performed in the musical Therapy Rocks at Urban Stages in New York in September and October 2010. [13]
Roscioli took part in the reading of the new musical, Welcome to My Life on April 11, 2011. [14]
Roscioli took part in Interart Theatre and Royal Family Production's performance of Gary Duggan's Dedalus Lounge, which began, January 8, 2012, at the Interart Theatre Annex in Manhattan, playing the part of Delphine. [15]
Roscioli performed at the 2012 Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University. She played the part of Mrs. Lovett in the award-winning musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street from June 13 to July 1, 2012. [16]
Roscioli participated in the workshop of the indie rock musical, Murder Ballad, presented by Vassar & New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Theater. It was performed from July 27 through July 29, 2012.
From September 9 through October 11, 2015, Roscioli starred as the Lady of the Lake in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater production of Spamalot . [17]
On August 11, 2016, Roscioli assumed the role of Fruma-Sarah in the 2015 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof . She also understudied Jessica Hecht as Golde and Alix Korey as Yente. She performed through the show's closing on December 31, 2016. [18]
In 2017, Dee joined Paulo Szot at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's highly anticipated production of Evita which opened with record-breaking sales at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA. All 22 performances, from the previews June 14 &15, opening night June 16, thru July 2, were sold out. Dee played Eva Peron alongside Paulo Szot (who played her husband, Argentinian military leader Colonel Juan Domingo Peron), and Dan Domenech who played Che, who narrates the story with an obvious disdain for Eva. The principal actors were supported by an ensemble of 35 with Dennis Razze directing.
Dee was the standby for Star and Lady in the Broadway and Chicago productions of The Cher Show .
In 2021, Dee was a Semi Finalist in the virtual American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, Georgia. [19] [20]
Most recently, in April 2024, Dee took over the role of Celine Dion in the Off-Broadway production of Titanique the Musical.
Roscioli made her debut in the musical Wicked in the Chicago sit-down production on January 24, 2006, in which she was the standby for the lead role of Elphaba, replacing Kristy Cates, who had assumed the role full-time. Roscioli replaced Cates on December 12, 2006. [21] Roscioli took a 12-week summer break from June 3, 2008 to August 24, 2008, in which time Elphaba was played by Lisa Brescia. [22] The production closed on January 25, 2009. [23]
Roscioli next played the role in the San Francisco production from April 7–19, 2009, covering as the standby for Elphaba, in place of Vicki Noon who was performing the full-time role for a short period. [24]
Roscioli made her Broadway debut on July 21, 2009, reprising the role of Elphaba in the New York company of the musical. [25] She starred opposite Alli Mauzey, Erin Mackey and Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda. She played her final performance March 21, 2010 and was succeeded by Mandy Gonzalez. [26]
Roscioli reprised the role on the show's First National U.S. Tour, with performances from June 7, 2011 to October 2, 2011, replacing Jackie Burns. [27] She holds the distinction of having played Elphaba in more performances in various North American productions than any other actress. [28] She returned to the First National Tour on September 25, 2012, replacing Nicole Parker, whom she also succeeded in the Broadway company. [29] Roscioli left the tour on April 28, 2013, and was replaced by Alison Luff. [30]
Elphaba Thropp is the protagonist in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, in its musical theatre adaptation Wicked, and in the musical's upcoming two-part film adaptation. The character is identified with the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is in turn based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation.
Nicole Frances Parker is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV, for which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, a role that she reprised on tour across North America. She voiced Penelope Pitstop in the animated series Wacky Races (2017–2019) and has appeared in the parody films Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Parker currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast The Neighborhood Listen, along with comedian Paul F. Tompkins.
Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.
Eden Erica Espinosa is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical Wicked. In 2022, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role as the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland Bakery. In 2024, Espinosa received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Lempicka.
Kendra Kassebaum is an American theatre actress, who has performed in many different musicals, and is perhaps best remembered for playing the role of Glinda in the first national tour, Broadway, and San Francisco casts of the blockbuster musical Wicked.
Julia Kathleen Murney is an American actress and singer, also known for television commercial voice-overs. Until 2005, she was commonly known as the Broadway actress who had technically never appeared on Broadway. This was because her fame came mostly from her performances on the Broadway charity circuit, and not traditional Broadway productions. She played the role of Elphaba in the musical Wicked, both on the US national tour (2006) and on Broadway (2007). She is also a two-time Drama Desk Award nominee, for The Wild Party (2000) and Falling (2013).
Kristen "Kristy" Cates is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Elphaba in the Chicago production of Wicked and as the original understudy in the 2003 Broadway production. She was previously in the casts of Princess Ida and the off-Broadway production Boobs! The Musical. In 2016, she portrayed Ms. Bassett in Finding Neverland on Broadway and understudied the role of Madame du Maurier. She last appeared on Broadway as Grandma Josephine in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Lisa Brescia is an American musical theatre actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she went on to pursue acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She taught Acting I and IV at Missouri State University and is now set to be the head of the Musical Theatre department at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.
Katherine "Katie" Rose Clarke is an American musical theater actress.
Willemijn Verkaik is a Dutch singer and actress. She is best known for her stage roles in Wicked and Elisabeth, and for providing the singing voice for Elsa in both the German and Dutch versions of Disney's Frozen. She was the longest running Elphaba in the musical Wicked, having played the role over 2,000 times, and is the only person to have played the role in three languages. Her first performance as Elphaba was on 31 October 2007, in Stuttgart, Germany, and her final performance was on 22 July 2017 in the West End of London.
Marcie Dodd is an American musical theatre actress, who is best known for playing Elphaba and Nessarose in various U.S. companies of the smash-hit musical Wicked.
Erin Ashley Mackey is an American stage actress and singer, known for playing the role of Glinda in the Chicago, Los Angeles, Broadway, and Second National Tour productions of the musical Wicked. She was also a double in 1998's The Parent Trap.
Teal Wicks is an American singer and stage actress, who is best known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway, San Francisco, and Los Angeles productions of the musical Wicked and as Mary Barrie in the musical Finding Neverland.
Carmen Cusack is an American musical theater actress and singer. She is known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, North American Tour, and Melbourne productions of the musical Wicked and for originating the roles of Alice Murphy and Clare Boothe Luce in the Broadway musicals Bright Star and Flying Over Sunset, respectively.
Louise Dearman is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked. Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any production of Wicked full-time. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, Sarah Brown and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Daisy Hilton in Side Show. She released her solo albums, You and I, Here Comes the Sun and It's Time, in 2005, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Mandy Gonzalez is an American actress and singer, best known for her leading roles on Broadway. She originated the role of Nina Rosario in the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of the musical In the Heights. In 2010 and 2011, she played Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked. She also played Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway production of Hamilton for a six-year run, from 2016 to 2022.
Jackie Burns is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theatre.
Jennifer "Jenny" DiNoia is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her work in musical theatre, especially Wicked, playing the lead role of Elphaba in various productions around the world.
Alison Nicole Luff is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her extensive work in musical theatre, notably for her roles as Elphaba in the First National Tour of Wicked and Jenna in the Broadway production of Waitress. From 2021 to 2023, she has appeared in a lead role in the Starz drama series Heels.