Natalie Venetia Belcon

Natalie Venetia Belcon
Belcon at 78th Tony Awards 2025
Born	(1969-04-05) April 5, 1969 (age 56) Trinidad
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1991–present

Natalie Venetia Belcon (born April 5, 1969) is a Trinidadian-born American actress and singer. She is best known for originating the role of former child television star Gary Coleman in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q and her performance as Omara in Buena Vista Social Club , for which she won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Her Broadway credits also include Joanne Jefferson in Rent, and Matilda the Musical.

Theater

Belcon has performed on the original cast recordings of Avenue Q, The Glorious Ones and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. ^[1]

She appeared as Columbina in the world premiere of the musical The Glorious Ones (based on the novel of the same name by Francine Prose) at the Pittsburgh Public Theater in April 2007. ^[2] She appeared Off-Broadway in the same role later in 2007, in which a reviewer commented that her "seductive presence is matched by her smoky voice." ^[3]

Belcon has performed in various productions and workshops of The Last Smoker in America , an original 4 character musical by Bill Russell and Peter Melnick, which received its world premiere at CATCO in Columbus, Ohio. A workshop production was previously presented in the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival. The Last Smoker in America began performances Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre on July 11, 2012 and closed in September 2012. She was in Matilda the Musical on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre as Mrs Phelps, replacing Karen Aldridge.^{[ citation needed ]}

In March 2025, she opened the Broadway production of Buena Vista Social Club in the lead role of Omara in which she "excels at dropping dry cut-downs with the hauteur of someone who does not suffer fools or amateurs". ^[4] She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. ^[5]

Television

Belcon appeared as an HR Rep in Damages . ^[6] Before this she was seen in Johnny and the Sprites until its end with her Avenue Q co-star, John Tartaglia. She plays Gwen, the neighbor of Tartaglia's character, Johnny T.

Belcon had recurring roles on the television shows The Education of Max Bickford , Beverly Hills, 90210 and Roc . Her most notable guest star appearance came in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air , as JoAnn Morgan. She also guest starred in episodes of Martin , Living Single , and The Cosby Show .

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2000	The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin	Emily/Nilda/Sandra	Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway	[7]
2001	Rent	Joanne Jefferson	Nederlander Theatre, Broadway
2003	Avenue Q	Gary Coleman	John Golden Theatre, Broadway
2007	The Glorious Ones	Columbina	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Off-Broadway
2009	Wicked	Madame Morrible	2nd U.S. National Tour
	10 Things to Do Before I Die	Vida	McGinn-Cazale Theatre, Off-Broadway
2012	The Last Smoker in America	Phyllis	Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway
2013	Matilda the Musical	Mrs. Phelps	Shubert Theatre, Broadway
2023	Buena Vista Social Club	Omara	Atlantic Theatre Company, Off-Broadway
2025			Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2024	Lucille Lortel Awards	Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical	Buena Vista Social Club	Won	[8]
	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical		Nominated
2025	Drama League Awards	Distinguished Performance		Nominated
	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Musical		Won

Personal

Belcon is a 1991 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. ^[9]

References

1. Portantiere, Michael (March 23, 2007). "Bubbly Black Girl Recording Will Be Released on April 3". TheaterMania. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
2. Lipton, Brian Scott (March 5, 2007). "Belcon, Kelly, Powers, Schoeffler, et al. Set for The Glorious Ones". TheaterMania. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
3. Isherwood, Charles (November 6, 2007). "Those Smutty, Nutty Kids With Heart, Treading the Boards in Merry Olde Italy". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
4. Vincentelli, Elisabeth (March 20, 2025). "'Buena Vista Social Club' Brings the Thrill of Music Making to Broadway". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 20, 2025.
5. Culwell-Block, Logan (May 1, 2025). "2025 Tony Award Nominations: Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending Lead the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
6. "Natalie Venetia Belcon". IMDb .
7. "Natalia Venetia Balcon". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
8. "Natalia Venetia Balcon". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
9. "Carnegie Mellon Alumni Win Tony Awards". Carnegie Mellon Today. Retrieved April 1, 2007.

External links

• Natalie Venetia Belcon at the Internet Broadway Database
• Natalie Venetia Belcon at IMDb
• Biography Archived March 29, 2006, at archive.today from the Avenue Q Web site.
• The Glorious Ones information from the Pittsburgh Public Theater.