Jacquelyn Piro Donovan
Encyclopedia
Jacquelyn Piro Donovan (born January 8 in Massachusetts
) is an American
musical theatre
actress and singer. She holds the distinction of portraying both Cosette and Fantine in Les Misérables (musical)
, the only actor in Broadway
history to do so. She is married to Pete Donovan, who recently served as head technician on the Broadway production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
.
. After graduating, she got her Equity card covering Carolee Carmello
in a regional theatre production.
Donovan originated the role of Cosette in the Third National and San Francisco companies of Les Misérables and later reprised the role for her Broadway debut. In 1996 and 2002, she returned to Broadway in the role of Fantine. She starred in the national touring companies of Sunset Boulevard
(role of Betty Schaefer), Big
(role of Susan Lawrence), The Secret Garden
(role of Lily), and Miss Saigon
(role of Ellen, a role she also later played on Broadway).
In 2004, she won the Helen Hayes Award
for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade
at the Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C.
, where she also originated the role of Elmira in the musical Nevermore. Donovan won a Connecticut Critics Circle Award in 2005 for her portrayal of Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
at the Goodspeed Opera House.
On May 2, 2011, it was announced that Donovan would take over the title role in Hello, Dolly!, produced by North Carolina Theatre, late in rehearsals. Cybill Shepherd
had withdrawn from the production after sustaining injuries in a mishap on stairs at her apartment complex.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical theatre
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...
actress and singer. She holds the distinction of portraying both Cosette and Fantine in Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
, the only actor in 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...
history to do so. She is married to Pete Donovan, who recently served as head technician on the Broadway production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane; it is based on the film of the same name...
.
Early life and career
Donovan attended Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. After graduating, she got her Equity card covering Carolee Carmello
Carolee Carmello
Carolee Carmello is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals.She made her Broadway debut in a small role in City of Angels...
in a regional theatre production.
Donovan originated the role of Cosette in the Third National and San Francisco companies of Les Misérables and later reprised the role for her Broadway debut. In 1996 and 2002, she returned to Broadway in the role of Fantine. She starred in the national touring companies of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
(role of Betty Schaefer), Big
Big, The Musical
Big: the musical is a musical adaptation of the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big. It was directed by Mike Ockrent and featured music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., with choreography by Susan Stroman. It involves a 12-year-old boy, Josh Baskin, who grows up overnight after being granted a...
(role of Susan Lawrence), The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's...
(role of Lily), and Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
(role of Ellen, a role she also later played on Broadway).
In 2004, she won the Helen Hayes Award
Helen Hayes Award
A Helen Hayes Award is a theater award named for the famed actress Helen Hayes to recognize excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are managed by Linda Levy Grossman. and presented by the Washington Theatre Awards Society.-Awards:The Helen Hayes...
for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...
at the Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where she also originated the role of Elmira in the musical Nevermore. Donovan won a Connecticut Critics Circle Award in 2005 for her portrayal of Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (musical)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a musical with a book by Lawrence Kasha and David Landay, music by Gene de Paul, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn...
at the Goodspeed Opera House.
On May 2, 2011, it was announced that Donovan would take over the title role in Hello, Dolly!, produced by North Carolina Theatre, late in rehearsals. Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
had withdrawn from the production after sustaining injuries in a mishap on stairs at her apartment complex.