Elizabeth A. Davis | |
---|---|
Born | Dumas, Texas, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Actor, musician |
Years active | 2006–present |
Spouse | Jordan Richard (2008–present) |
Elizabeth Anne Davis known professionally as Elizabeth A. Davis, is an American actress and musician known for her work in the musical Once , for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 2012. She was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the musical Allegro in 2015. In 2023, Elizabeth fully released her independent album, The Apple Tree which is a concept album for her play, CHILD(LESS). She also wrote book, music and lyrics for MY NAME’S NOT INDIAN JOE. The Joe Lightfoot Gonzales Memorial Endowment Fund can be accessed here: https://bbis.baylor.edu/give
Elizabeth Anne Davis was born in Dumas, Texas, and raised in Channing, Texas, the daughter of Melody (née Brown) and Frank Davis. [1] She also has a brother named Jonathan. Her father is the former superintendent of the Channing Independent School District, and both of her parents are involved in the arts. Her mother is a former speech coach and teacher who earned her master's degree in Speech Communication from West Texas A&M University in 1982. [2] [3] [4] She graduated from Channing High School, received her Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from Baylor University and her Master of Fine Arts from Case Western Reserve University-Cleveland Play House acting program in Cleveland, Ohio. While at Baylor, Davis met her husband, Jordan Richard, a television director. Davis is an accomplished musician, having played the violin for over 18 years. [3] [5] [6]
Davis first started out her professional career as a college student playing the lead role in the Texas Musical Drama in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
Davis is seen as the Romanian "Nadia" on the New York-shot Taxi: Brooklyn. She was also seen in FOX's Fringe in the "Ability" episode and on One Life to Live .[ citation needed ]
Davis has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions, including the Off-Broadway production of Wolves as Kay at the 59E59 Theatre. [7] She played the role of Sister James in Doubt at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida and starred as Blanche Dubois in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Cleveland Playhouse. She played the role of Célimène in a New Jersey Shakespeare Festival production of The Misanthrope [8] and has also understudied the lead female role in the New World Stages production of The 39 Steps. [9] She starred in The Starship Astov at the Midtown International Theatre Festival, for which she was nominated for a MITF Best Actress award. Davis also starred as Emily Dickinson in Emily at Theatre Row for which she won the New York Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Davis is best known for originating the role of Réza, the Czech roommate of leading lady Cristin Milioti in Once, a stage musical version of the Academy Award-winning film Once. Davis originated the role of Réza at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University and Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop. Her final performance as Réza in Once was on March 24, 2013. [15] Once opened on Broadway on March 18, 2012 and received 11 Tony nominations, including Best Musical. For this role she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] In May 2013, she joined Christopher Lloyd and composer, Duncan Sheik in Classic Stage Company's rare production of Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle .
In April through May 2014, Davis starred in Four Last Things at the American Globe Theater. [21]
Beginning in May 2022, Davis starred as Thomas Jefferson in the American Repertory Theater production of 1776.
Year | Production | Role | Location | Category |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012-2013 | Once | Reza | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre | Broadway |
2022 | 1776 | Thomas Jefferson | American Airlines Theatre | Broadway |
Off-Broadway
• The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (2018), Giri
• My Name's Not Indian Joe (2018), Liz
• King Lear (2017), Goneril
• Dust Can't Kill Me (2016), Angelina
• Zorba! (2015), The Widow
• Allegro (2014), Jennie
• Four Last Things, (May, 2014), Jane
• Caucasian Chalk Circle , (April, 2013), Grusha
• Joe, (March, 2012), Playwright/Performer
• Once, (2011), Réza/Violinist
• The 39 Steps , (August 2010-February 2011), Woman (U/S – Performer)
• Wolves, (August 2010), Kay
• Dally with the Devil, (September 2011), Megan
• Emily, (September 2009), Emily Dickenson
• Of Mice and Men, (April 2008), Curley’s Wife
• The Cherry Orchard , (September–October 2008), Varya
• Grace, Sarah
Regional Theatre
• 1776, (2022), Thomas Jefferson
• Buzz, (2019), Buzz
• Indecent , (2019) The Female Middle (Actor 3)
• Rain, (2016), Anna
• Indian Joe, (2015), Liz/ Book, Music, Lyrics
• MacBeth Again, Becca
• Once, (March 2011), Réza
• The Devil’s Disciple, (2014), Judith
• The Misanthrope, (June–July 2011), Celimene
• Ride The Tiger, (October–November 2008), Judy
• Doubt , (February 2009), Sister James
• Opus, (February–March 2007), Grace
• Well, (April), Lisa U/S
• A Streetcar Named Desire, Stella
• New Amsterdam, (2019), Shana Davis
• Law & Order: SVU, (2019), Gemma Brooks
• The Wisdom Tooth, (2019), Susy
• Ben Platt: Older, (2019), Megan
• Trauma is a Time Machine, (2018), Georgia
• Law & Order: SVU, (2015), Alessandra Bay
• The Jim Gaffigan Show, (2015), Roxie
• Blue Bloods, (2015), Tatiana
• Taxi Brooklyn, (2014), Nadia
• Blur Circle, (2014), Heather
• Fringe, (2014), Joanne
• All My Children, (2011), Single Gal
• Nora Falls, (2007)
• The Today Show, (2012)
• The David Letterman Show, (2012)
• The Tony Awards, (2012)
• CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade, (2012)
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Once | Nominated |
2015 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Allegro | Nominated |
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