Eden Espinosa
Encyclopedia
Eden Erica Espinosa is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer and stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 actress, who is best 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...

 for the Broadway, Los Angeles and San Francisco productions of the musical 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 & early career

Eden Espinosa began singing at the age of three, performing at age five, and recording at the age of ten. At Canyon High School
Canyon High School (Anaheim, California)
Canyon High School is a traditional four-year high school located in the Anaheim Hills community in the city of Anaheim, California and is an International Baccalaureate school. It is located on of land on Imperial Highway between the cross streets of Santa Ana Canyon Road and Nohl Ranch Road, and...

, she played the role of Maria in West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...

. After graduating, Eden worked at local theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

.
Eden was also part of the successful performing group The Young Americans
The Young Americans
The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group is credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral singing...

, which is based in southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 and performs in front of audiences worldwide.

Wicked

Eden made her Broadway debut as a member of the Original Broadway Cast of Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...

's musical 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...

, which opened on October 30, 2003. She originated the position of standby for Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...

 in the lead 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...

. She was also an understudy for the role of Nessarose. Espinosa performed the lead 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...

 for a month continuously during the Summer of 2004, while Menzel was filming Ask the Dusk
Ask the Dust (film)
Ask the Dust is a 2006 film based on the book Ask the Dust by John Fante. The movie was written and directed by Robert Towne. Tom Cruise served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006...

. Espinosa left Wicked on September 5, 2004, to originate the lead for the Broadway debut of Brooklyn
Brooklyn (musical)
Brooklyn the Musical is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson.-Synopsis:Using the play within a play structure, Brooklyn focuses on a group of five ragtag homeless musicians known as the City Weeds...

.

Espinosa performed the lead 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...

 for the Wicked First National Tour while it was in San Francisco, from August 5 to September 11, 2005. She replaced Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has additionally been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. She released her debut solo album through PS Classics in June 2009...

 while she recovered from an injury, and closed the San Francisco run.

On January 10, 2006, Espinosa returned to perform in the lead 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...

 for the Broadway production of Wicked, taking over the role from Shoshana Bean
Shoshana Bean
Shoshana Elise Bean is an American stage actress and singer known for her roles in Broadway musicals. She is best known for playing Elphaba on Broadway in the musical Wicked.-Early life and education:...

. Espinosa performed for the Wicked celebration of its 1,000th performance on Broadway, on March 21, 2006. Eden played opposite both Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

 and Kate Reinders
Kate Reinders
Kate Reinders is an American musical theatre actress, who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Reinders was born in Seattle, Washington, but raised in Muskegon, Michigan...

 as Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 on Broadway. She left the 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...

 production on October 8, 2006, and was replaced by Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...

.

Eden received the 2006 Broadway.com Audience Award for "Favorite Female Replacement", in recognition of 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...

 during her Broadway run as lead.

Espinosa was chosen to originate the role of Elphaba for the third U.S. production of Wicked in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, which opened on February 21, 2007 at the Pantages Theatre
Pantages Theatre (Hollywood)
The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at Hollywood and Vine , Hollywood, California, USA. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages...

. She opened the show with former Broadway co-star Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

 as Glinda. She received broad critical acclaim for the role. Espinosa left the Los Angeles company on December 30, 2007 and was replaced by Caissie Levy
Caissie Levy
Caissie Shira Reiser , known professionally as Caissie Levy, is a Canadian stage actress and singer.-Early Life:...

. She returned to the Los Angeles production of Wicked on October 31, 2008, to reprise 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...

 and stayed with the production until its finale on January 11, 2009. Wicked Los Angeles was one of the most financially successful musicals in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 theatre history.

On March 2, 2010, Espinosa took over the role of Elphaba from Teal Wicks
Teal Wicks
Teal Wicks is an American singer and stage actress, best known for her performance as Elphaba in the Broadway, San Francisco, and Los Angeles productions of the musical Wicked.-Education:...

 for the San Francisco production of Wicked, on a contract which ran through June 26, 2010. She performed opposite Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum is an American theatre actress who has performed in many different musicals , and is most noted for her role as Glinda in the first national tour, Broadway, and San Francisco casts of Wicked.- Biography :Kendra Kassebaum was born May 12, 1973, in St Louis, Missouri...

 as Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

, whom she had previously performed with on the Wicked First National Tour in San Francisco.

Brooklyn

Espinosa originated and workshopped the title role of the lead character "Brooklyn" for the musical Brooklyn over the course of two years. Brooklyn had its world premiere on April 30, 2003 and ran until June 15, 2003 at the Denver Civic Center. Espinosa made her Broadway debut as a lead, performing the role of Brooklyn, for Brooklyn, on October 24, 2004. She performed the role through its close on June 26, 2005.

Espinosa was nominated for a 2005 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance for playing the title role in Brooklyn. Eden is featured on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Brooklyn.

Rent

Eden was featured as "Maureen" for the closing Broadway company of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...

 (a role again originated by Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...

) beginning on May 30, 2008, replacing Nicolette Hart. She performed through closing night on September 7, 2008. Espinosa is featured on the DVD of a live filmed performance by the closing company of Rent.

Additional theatre

Espinosa starred in a production of Flora the Red Menace
Flora the Red Menace
Flora the Red Menace is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Robert Russell, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The musical starred Liza Minnelli in the title role in her Broadway debut, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical...

which ran at UCLA's Freud Playhouse from May 6–18, 2008. After its closing, On September 21, 2008, Eden made her West End debut in "Never Neverland", a benefit concert that raised money for British charities Ovarian Cancer Action and NCH
NCH
Action for Children is a national children’s charity in the United Kingdom that supports and speaks out for the most vulnerable and neglected children, young people, families and their communities....

. The concert took place at the Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....

 in London.

Espinosa also performed in the one-night staging of Howard Ashman
Howard Ashman
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...

's previously-unproduced musical Dreamstuff on June 23, 2008 at the Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles directed by Michael Urie
Michael Urie
Michael Lorenzo Urie is an American actor, television producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy series Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...

.

Espinosa played the Fairy Godmother in the 2011 Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
The Nashville Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The orchestra performs 140 concerts annually.-History:...

 concert version of Cinderella on April 15, 2011 alongside Wicked alum Alli Mauzey
Alli Mauzey
Alli Mauzey is an American actress from Anaheim Hills, California.She made her Broadway debut as Brenda in Hairspray in 2003. Her "big break" came when she starred as Lenora in the Broadway musical Cry Baby for which she won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for a Drama League Award.In...

, who played the title character.

Solo shows/performances

In March 2009, Eden took her solo show entitled "Me" to Joe's Pub in NYC for a series of concerts following her three performances of the show towards the end of Wicked's LA run. She is scheduled to return to Southern California with her show on Friday, July 24, 2009 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre is a 1421-seat performing arts theatre in Los Angeles, California. The theatre is owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles, and run through a three-way partnership between the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the...

. Eden was featured as a soloist for Disneyland's new firework spectacular "Magical" premiering in the summer of 2009, where she sang Magical's theme song as well as classic Disney tunes like "Baby Mine".

Television

Espinosa has appeared on various television shows, including Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

, Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...

, and Dog Whisperer
Dog Whisperer
Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan is a reality television series that features Cesar Millan's work with problem dogs. In the United States, the program airs exclusively on the Nat Geo WILD channel with season 8 expected to premiere in 2012....

. She had a recurring role in 2009 as the voice of Sasha Caylo on the super robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...

 animated series Titan Maximum
Titan Maximum
Titan Maximum is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, on September 27, 2009. A teaser premiered during the "Robot Chicken on Wheels" tour and at the 2009 San...

, an original show developed for Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...

.

In 2007, she appeared on the ABC series Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...

 episode "Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ugly Betty)
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the sixth episode in season two of the dramedy series Ugly Betty, and the 29th episode in the series, which aired on November 1, 2007. The episode was written by Henry Alonso Myers and directed by Wendey Stanzler...

" along with members of Los Angeles Wicked Cast, and performed "I'm Not That Girl" and "Defying Gravity".

She has also appeared on the Today Show in 2004, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...

 TV broadcast in 2004, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...

 in 2007, and as a performer on the 2008 Tony Awards
62nd Tony Awards
The 62nd Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 15, 2008. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre. CBS television broadcast the event from Radio City Music Hall in New York City as it has since...

.
In 2011, she appeared on the animated sketch comedy series Mad
Mad (TV series)
MAD is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities and other media using various types of...

 episode "Force Code/Flammable" as Katy Putty, a Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

 parody made out of Play-Doh
Play-Doh
Play-Doh is a modeling compound used by young children for art and craft projects at home and in school. Composed of flour, water, salt, boric acid, and mineral oil, the product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s...

 and singing about flammable things, and performed "Flammable", a spoof on Katy Perry's song Firework
Firework (song)
"Firework" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song was written by Katy Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm, Ester Dean, and produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee for Perry's third studio album, Teenage Dream...

.

Recordings

  • Top 25 Praise Songs - Updated (2000)
  • Top 25 Acoustic Worship Songs (2002)
  • The Maury Yeston Songbook (2003)
  • Hair
    Hair (musical)
    Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...

    - The Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording (2005)
  • Bright Lights, Big City
    Bright Lights, Big City (musical)
    Bright Lights, Big City is a musical with music lyrics and book written by Paul Scott Goodman and is based on the novel by Jay McInerney. It follows a week in the life of Jamie, an aspiring writer in his mid 20s who loses himself in the chaos of 1980s New York City.-Plot:Jamie, a...

    - (2005 concept album)
  • Brooklyn the Musical (2005 Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • Dreaming Wide Awake: The Music of Scott Alan (2007)
  • David Burnham - featured duet: "As Long as You're Mine" (2007)
  • Magical Fireworks - soundtrack: Disneyland

External links

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