Dee Roscioli
Encyclopedia
Dee Roscioli is an American
singer and actress, who is known for her performances as "Elphaba
" in the Chicago, San Francisco, Broadway
and national touring productions of the musical
Wicked
.
in 1999. While at DeSales she performed in Act One's production of The Music Man
as "Marian the librarian" and as the beggar woman in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
.
Wicked in the Chicago sit-down production on 24 January 2006 as the standby for the role of Elphaba
, replacing Kristy Cates
, who had assumed the lead role. Roscioli replaced Cates on 12 December 2006. Roscioli took a 12-week break from 3 June 2008 through 24 August 2008, in which time the role was played by Lisa Brescia
. The production closed on January 25, 2009.
Roscioli next played the role in the San Francisco production from 7–19 April 2009, covering as the standby for Elphaba, in place of Vicki Noon
who was performing the full-time role for a short peroid.
Roscioli made her Broadway debut on 21 July 2009, reprising her role of Elphaba in the New York company of the musical. She played her final performance 21 March 2010 and was succeeded by Mandy Gonzalez
.
Dee reprised the role on the show's First National U.S. Tour, with performances from 7 June 2011 to 2 October 2011, replacing Jackie Burns. She holds the distinction of having played Elphaba in more performances in various North American productions than any other actress.
Roscioli was cast in the principal role of "Grizabella" in a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber
's musical Cats
from 2002 to 2003 and received critical acclaim for her performance.
In 2003, she participated in the off-Broadway
US debut of George Gershwin
's Primrose which was presented in a concert format.
In 2005, she played "Audrey" in Little Shop of Horrors
at Northern Stage. She also participated in the workshop sessions of Behind the Limelight and Dangerous Beauty in New York City.
After leaving Wicked, Roscioli worked on a new musical called Liberty: A Monumental New Musical. In this show, she played the lead, "Liberty".
In late June 2010, Roscioli performed in a sold-out cabaret
show Decidedly Dee at the jazz club
Birdland. She also performed in the musical Therapy Rocks at Urban Stages in New York in September and October 2010.
Roscioli took part in the reading of the new musical, Welcome to My Life on April 11, 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and actress, who is known for her performances as "Elphaba
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...
" in the Chicago, San Francisco, Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and national touring productions of the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
.
Education
She graduated from Wilson Area High School in 1995 and DeSales UniversityDeSales University
DeSales University is a private Catholic university for men and women, located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before 2001, it was known as Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales.- History :...
in 1999. While at DeSales she performed in Act One's production of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
as "Marian the librarian" and as the beggar woman in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1936 British film produced and directed by George King.-Plot:The film features Tod Slaughter in one of his most famous roles as barber Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd was wrongly sentenced to life in prison. After his release 15 years later, he begins...
.
Wicked
Roscioli made her debut in the musicalMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Wicked in the Chicago sit-down production on 24 January 2006 as the standby for the role of Elphaba
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...
, replacing Kristy Cates
Kristy Cates
Kristen "Kristy" Cates is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Elphaba in the Chicago production of Wicked...
, who had assumed the lead role. Roscioli replaced Cates on 12 December 2006. Roscioli took a 12-week break from 3 June 2008 through 24 August 2008, in which time the role was played by Lisa Brescia
Lisa Brescia
Lisa Brescia, born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an American musical theatre actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lisa went on to pursue acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts...
. The production closed on January 25, 2009.
Roscioli next played the role in the San Francisco production from 7–19 April 2009, covering as the standby for Elphaba, in place of Vicki Noon
Vicki Noon
Vicki Noon is an American theater performer, who played the lead role of Elphaba on the Second National Tour of Wicked, a role she had previously covered in various other productions of the musical.-Early life:...
who was performing the full-time role for a short peroid.
Roscioli made her Broadway debut on 21 July 2009, reprising her role of Elphaba in the New York company of the musical. She played her final performance 21 March 2010 and was succeeded by Mandy Gonzalez
Mandy Gonzalez
Mandy Gonzalez is an American actress and singer, who most recently finished a 10-month run as Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked.-Early life and education:...
.
Dee reprised the role on the show's First National U.S. Tour, with performances from 7 June 2011 to 2 October 2011, replacing Jackie Burns. She holds the distinction of having played Elphaba in more performances in various North American productions than any other actress.
Other Theatre
From 2000 to 2001, Roscioli originated a lead role in a national touring production of Pokémon Live as Delia Ketchum and also contributed to the soundtrack.Roscioli was cast in the principal role of "Grizabella" in a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's musical Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
from 2002 to 2003 and received critical acclaim for her performance.
In 2003, she participated in the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
US debut of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Primrose which was presented in a concert format.
In 2005, she played "Audrey" in Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
at Northern Stage. She also participated in the workshop sessions of Behind the Limelight and Dangerous Beauty in New York City.
After leaving Wicked, Roscioli worked on a new musical called Liberty: A Monumental New Musical. In this show, she played the lead, "Liberty".
In late June 2010, Roscioli performed in a sold-out cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
show Decidedly Dee at the jazz club
Jazz club
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz clubs have been in large rooms in the eras of Orchestral jazz and big band jazz and when its popularity as a dance music was common...
Birdland. She also performed in the musical Therapy Rocks at Urban Stages in New York in September and October 2010.
Roscioli took part in the reading of the new musical, Welcome to My Life on April 11, 2011.