Nikki Snelson (born Nicole Snelson) is an American actress, who works mainly in stage musicals.
Snelson is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, [1] and received her training at the Boston Conservatory. [2] Snelson's first major role on Broadway came as "Winnie Tate" in the 1999 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun (musical), opposite Bernadette Peters. She also appeared on Broadway in the revival of Sweet Charity in 2005, starring Christina Applegate.
She was in a long term relationship with actor Christian Campbell, from 2005 to 2007.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, Snelson originated the role of exercise queen "Brooke Wyndam" in the world premiere of the musical Legally Blonde: The Musical in San Francisco. She performed the same role in the Broadway production at the Palace Theatre, opening in April 2007. [3] She can be heard on the cast recording of the show, and was also in the MTV Broadcast, as well as the reality casting show Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods .
In 2008, she left the company of Legally Blonde to join the National tour of A Chorus Line , as "Cassie", starting in May 2008. [4] [5] She was requested to audition for the role of Cassie, after she had tried out the role of Val for the Broadway revival before. She then appeared in 42nd Street at The Muny in St. Louis in June 2009, as "Annie", opposite Robert Cuccioli. [6]
Snelson originated the role of the Mad Hatter in the world premiere of the new Frank Wildhorn musical Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure . The musical had its world premiere on November 24, 2009 in previews and officially December 5, 2009 at The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, Florida, and opened at the Alley Theatre, Houston, on January 15, 2010. [7] [8] [9] [10] While the plot of the show was reviewed poorly (though the production good), Snelson received great reviews for her portrayal, which featured her performing difficult choreography (by Marguerite Derricks) while singing "high energy" Wildhorn tunes. Tampa Bay Online says Snelson "gives a knock-out performance." [ citation needed ] Variety added that Snelson played the Hatter "deliciously wicked." However, before its Broadway production, the musical's creators altered the role of the Hatter drastically, including taking out the dancing, cutting out the sarcastic dialogues, as well as replacing her signature song "Nick of Time," and decided to replace Snelson. [11] [12] In an interview following this, Snelson said "it was a wonderful experience for me, and I will forever be heartbroken." [13]
She took part in a reading of a new musical Sphinx Winx on March 15, 2010, in New York. The musical has music and lyrics by Kenneth Hitchner, Jr. and a book by Phillip Capice, Bob Keuch and Anne Hitchner. [14]
Snelson has appeared in several television shows, including as a guest on Desperate Housewives (2005) and as "Chelsea" on ABC's All My Children (2004).
Snelson was featured in the documentary Every Little Step and auditioned for the part of Val, but did not get the part.
She was offered a role in the CW's Valentine , but her contract with the Chorus Line national tour forbid her from leaving, as the producers threatened to sue.
Georgia Bright Engel was an American actress. She is best known for having played Georgette Franklin Baxter in the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1972 to 1977, Pat MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond from 2003 to 2005, and Mamie Sue on Hot in Cleveland from 2012 to 2015. She was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and a BAFTA award.
Frank Wildhorn is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical Jekyll & Hyde ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitney Houston.
Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.
Robert Cuccioli is an American actor and singer. He is best known for originating the lead dual title roles in the musical Jekyll & Hyde, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won the Joseph Jefferson Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Fany Award for outstanding actor in a musical.
Ann Harada is an American actress and singer who was first known for the musical Avenue Q, in which she originated the role of Christmas Eve, the heavily accented Japanese therapist.
Emily Skinner, also known as Emily Scott Skinner, is a Tony-nominated American actress and singer. She has played leading roles in 11 Broadway productions including New York, New York, Prince of Broadway, The Cher Show, Side Show, Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight, Billy Elliot, as well as the Actor's Fund Broadway concerts of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She has sung on concert stages around the world and on numerous recordings.
Lauren Kennedy is an American actress and singer who has performed numerous times on Broadway. She is now the producing artistic director of Theatre Raleigh in her home state of North Carolina.
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.
Ashley Marie Spencer is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Spencer was a contestant on the 2007 NBC show Grease: You're the One that I Want! She was the understudy for Barbie in the Barbie in Fairytopia tour, in which she sang and danced ballet.
Coleen Sexton is an American stage actress who made her Broadway debut at age 20 in Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse's Jekyll & Hyde in 2000. She portrayed the starring role of Lucy Harris in the Broadway production, as an understudy from 1999, and took over the role from Luba Mason in January 2000. She can be seen on the DVD of the show starring Andrea Rivette as Emma Carew and David Hasselhoff in the title role. Before making her debut in Jekyll & Hyde, Sexton was a singer/performer in a Germany-based band called 5NY.
Karen Mason is an American musical theatre actress and singer. She has appeared on stage in Broadway theatre, notably as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, and is a multiple award-winning cabaret performer.
Legally Blonde: The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods is an MTV program created in order to cast an actress to replace Laura Bell Bundy in the role of Elle Woods in the Broadway production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. The show debuted on June 2, 2008.
Wonderland, formerly called Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure or Wonderland: A New Alice, is a musical play with a book by Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd, lyrics by Murphy, and music by Frank Wildhorn. The story, a contemporary version of the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll, is set in New York City and focuses on writer Alice Cornwinkle and her 10-year-old daughter Chloe.
Darren Ritchie is an American actor and singer, originally from Florida.
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.
Jennifer Cody is an American actress and dancer.
Lauren Ashley Zakrin is an American musical theatre actress. She was a finalist in MTV's Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods, coming in fourth place overall. She has appeared on Broadway, as well as in national tours and regional theatre.
Janet Dacal is an American actress, singer, and performer in musical theatre. She received the Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Broadway musical In the Heights.
Taylor Elizabeth Louderman is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for originating the role of Regina George in the Broadway musical Mean Girls, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2018.
Kate Rockwell is an American actor, dancer, and singer. She is known for her work on Broadway and for originating the roles of Skylar in Bring It On: The Musical in 2011 and of Karen Smith in the 2018 musical Mean Girls, for the latter of which she received Drama Desk Award and Helen Hayes Award nominations.