Julia Kathleen Murney (born January 14, 1969) is an American actress and singer, also known for television commercialvoice-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).
The daughter of actor Christopher Murney and Anne Murney, Murney was named after the song "Julia" from The Beatles' White Album. She has a younger sister, Caitlin (born 1977), who is a film producer and lives in Los Angeles, and younger brother, Patrick (born 1987), who is an actor and graduated from Syracuse University with a drama degree in 2009.
In the liner notes from Murney's album I'm Not Waiting, composer Andrew Lippa says that he first met her in June 1996. He said,
I was the music director for a Stephen Schwartzcompendium called Snapshots, auditions were going well, if uninspiring, until a certain Julia Murney (with whom I was, at the time, unacquainted) strutted into the room. She sang a song, a forever favorite ever since, called Imagine My Surprise. Heartbreaking. Seeing as I was about to do the reading of The Wild Party in August, I wrote on my notes "Is she Queenie?!?!?" followed by several stars and excited doodles. Then, the director asked for another song, preferably something by Stephen Schwartz.
la Murney: I know Meadowlark la director: That'd be great I didn't bring the music la pianist: (panic) la Lippa: (heroically) I know it, what key? (oh, the swagger, the cock-suredness. I did want to impress her, after all)
Murney made her debut on Broadway in 2005, in the short-lived musical Lennon. She was also seen in the Actors' Fund benefit concerts of Funny Girl, Chess, Hair, and the World AIDS Day Benefit Concert Pippin. She has also been featured on television in Sex and the City, Ed, NYPD Blue, and various episodes of Law & Order.
Afterwards, Murney succeeded Stephanie J. Block in the lead role of Elphaba in the first national touring company of the musical Wicked on March 6, 2006. In that role, she won an Acclaim Award from the Cincinnati Enquirer for leading performer in a musical. She departed the tour on September 3, 2006, after six months, and was replaced by Shoshana Bean. Murney then transferred to the Broadway production, reprising the role of Elphaba for a nine-month engagement, beginning January 9, 2007, replacing Ana Gasteyer.[1] She played her final performance on October 7, 2007 and was replaced by Stephanie J. Block.[4] Both on tour and on Broadway, she starred opposite Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda.
Her debut solo album, I'm Not Waiting, was released in May 2006 on the Sh-K-Boom Records label. The album's title song was written specially for Murney by Andrew Lippa, with whom she has a strong artistic relationship. Also on the album are a jazz acoustic version of the song "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked and "Perfect", which was written with Tom Kitt.[5] Murney can be heard on the original cast albums of The Wild Party and A Class Act as well as the Actors' Fund recordings of Hair and Chess.
Murney played Mrs. Walker in The Who's Tommy in Oklahoma City from February 5–21, 2009.[6] In September 2009, she appeared in the Signature Theatre's production of First You Dream - The Songs of Kander and Ebb in Arlington, Virginia, with Norm Lewis, Matthew Scott, Heidi Blickenstaff, Eleasha Gamble, and James Clow.
In 2021, Murney played the role of Arlene in Out of the Box Theatrical's immersive off-Broadway revival of the musical "Baby".[14] In 2022[15][circular reference] Murney appeared in the off-broadway production of Between the Lines in the role of Grace/Queen Maureen.[16] Both productions released cast albums in 2023 which Murney appeared on.[17]
Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.
Shoshana E. Bean is a Tony-nominated American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation.
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda in Wicked, Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical, and her Tony Award–nominated role as Brooke Ashton in Noises Off. She also starred as Ivy Lynn on the musical-drama series Smash, on which she sang the Grammy Award-nominated "Let Me Be Your Star", and portrayed Liz on the sitcom Sean Saves the World.
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.
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.
Wicked is a cast recording containing the majority of the songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked, with music and lyrics by composer Stephen Schwartz and a book by writer Winnie Holzman. Released on December 16, 2003 by Decca Broadway both in physical and digital releases. The former contains a foreword and a short synopsis, provided by Gregory Maguire, who wrote the 1995 novel on which the musical is based, in addition to lyrics to those songs included.
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.
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.
Jennifer Cody is an American actress and dancer.
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.
Lindsay Michelle Mendez is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in American musical theatre. She won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in a Broadway revival of Carousel. Her other credits on Broadway include Elphaba in Wicked, Godspell, and Jan in Grease.
Jessica Vosk is an American singer and actress, known for her work in musical theater.
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