Nancy Opel

Nancy Carol Opel (born 13 December, 1956) is an American singer and actress. She grew up in the Kansas communities of Prairie Village and Leawood, and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School. She trained at Juilliard.

Career

She was nominated for the 2002 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Penelope Pennywise in Urinetown.[1]

She has appeared on Broadway in Evita (1979),[2] Teddy & Alice (1987),[3] Sunday in the Park with George as Frieda, Betty (1984),[4] Anything Goes (replacement Hope Harcourt),[5] Triumph of Love (1997) as Corine[6] Fiddler on the Roof (2004) as Yente,[7] Memphis as Mama in 2011 and 2012 and[8] Cinderella as Madame (the Stepmother) in June 2014 to September 7, 2014.[9] She performed the roles of Mazeppa and Miss Cratchitt in the Encores! staged concert of Gypsy in 2007.[10]

She portrayed Kafka in the Off-Broadway debut of David Ives' one-acter, Words, Words, Words, which ran at Primary Stages in November 1993 to February 1994[11][12] She appeared in another Ives play, Polish Joke, which ran Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production in February to April 2003. Opel played several characters, and was nominated for the 2003 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.[13]

She played the title character in the first national tour of The Drowsy Chaperone, which started in September 2007.[10]

She played three characters: the Mayor, Toxie's Mother, and a nun, in the rock musical The Toxic Avenger. She appeared in the musical at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey in October 2008.[14] She appeared in the musical Off-Broadway at New World Stages, starting in April 2009. She received the 2009 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.[15]

From November 2014 to April 2015 she appeared on Broadway in the musical Honeymoon in Vegas, and was nominated for the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.[16][17]

She played the title role in Hello, Dolly! at the Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC in 2013.[18] She appeared in Follies at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in September to October 2016, as Carlotta.[19] She appeared in the new musical Curvy Widow: The Musical at the North Carolina Stage Company in October 2016.[20]

Her television credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: SVU.

She is an acting coach. She stated her philosophy: "I try to teach my students to get out of their heads and into their instincts, back to that spark that started them out in the first place."[21]

It was announced on November 13, 2018 that Opel will be taking over the role of Madame Morrible in the Broadway production of Wicked on November 20.

Personal life

She resides with her daughter in Manhattan. Opel mentioned that she painted the walls and ceiling of their apartment.[22]

References
  1. Urinetown Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  2. Evita Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  3. Teddy & Alice Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  4. Sunday in the Park with George Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  5. Anything Goes Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  6. Triumph of Love Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  7. Fiddler on the Roof Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016
  8. Hetrick, Adam. " 'Memphis' Welcomes Back Tony Nominee Nancy Opel Feb. 14" Playbill, February 14, 2012
  9. McPhee, Ryan. "Look Out! Tony Nominee Nancy Opel Is Cinderella's Newest Madame on Broadway" broadway.com, June 30, 2014
  10. Jones, Kenneth. "Nancy Opel Will Be Drowsy in National Tour" Playbill, July 18, 2007
  11. All in the Timing Archived 2014-02-23 at the Wayback Machine Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed December 13, 2016
  12. Brantley, Ben. "Review/Theater: 'All in the Timing'; Merrily Sputtering Along" The New York Times, December 3, 1993
  13. Polish Joke Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed December 14, 2016
  14. Stephen Wells (October 17, 2008). "Protecting the Environment, With Monstrous Fervor". New York Times.
  15. The Toxic Avenger lortel.org, accessed December 13, 2016
  16. Gioia, Michael; Gans, Andrew. "The Honeymoon Is Over! Broadway's 'Honeymoon in Vegas', Starring Tony Danza, To Close" Playbill, March 31, 2015
  17. ' Honeymoon in Vegas Awards" ibdb.com, accessed December 13, 2016
  18. Jones, Kenneth. "DC 'Hello, Dolly!', With Broadway's Nancy Opel as the Matchmaker, Begins March 15" Playbill, March 15, 2013
  19. Hetrick, Adam. " 'Follies', With Christiane Noll, Emily Skinner and Nancy Opel, Begins Tonight" Playbill, September 7, 2016
  20. Gans, Andrew. "Nancy Opel Will Head Cast of New Musical 'Curvy Widow' " Playbill, October 6, 2016
  21. McGee, Celia. "The Rock Mama in Sensible Shoes" The New York Times, April 8, 2009
  22. Siegel, Micki. "At Home With Honeymoon in Vegas' Nancy Opel: A Do-It-Yourself Dream Come True" Playbill, December 8, 2014
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