Leslie Kritzer
Encyclopedia
Leslie Kritzer is an award-winning Broadway
actress. She is from Livingston, New Jersey
.
in Hairspray
and was the character Serena in Legally Blonde The Musical. Off-Broadway she was seen in The Great American Trailer Park Musical
, Bat Boy
and Godspell
, and her regional credits include Vanities
(Kathy), Babes in Arms
(Baby Rose), and both Grease
(Rizzo) and Funny Girl (Fanny) at Paper Mill Playhouse.
She received a 2006 Drama Desk
nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for The Great American Trailer Park Musical, followed by a 2007 Special Achievement MAC Award for her show Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, and a 2007 Clarence Derwent Award
for her performance as Serena in Legally Blonde.
Kritzer starred in A Catered Affair
, portraying Janey Hurley, the character played by Debbie Reynolds
in the 1956 feature film of the same name. A Catered Affair had its Broadway run from March 2008 through July 27, 2008.
She starred in the Encores!
staged concert presentation of On the Town in November 2008, as Hildy, the amorous and aggressive taxi driver.
In May 2009 Kritzer performed in the musical "Cabaret" at the Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) portraying the lead role of Sally Bowles.
In the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), Kritzer performed in Judas and Me in the role of the angel Gabriel. In March 2009 Kritzer played Monica in the Off-Broadway
musical Rooms: A Rock Romance. In December 2009 Kritzer performed in the musical "Pop!" at the Yale Reportory Theatre. The musical is based on the life of the late Andy Warhol
. Kritzer portrayed the role of "Valerie", a character based on feminist writer Valerie Solanas.
In March 2010 Kritzer, along with Tom Wopat
, Vanessa L. Williams
, and Barbara Cook
star in a new musical revue, Sondheim on Sondheim
. The Roundabout Theatre Company
limited engagement production opened at Broadway's Studio 54
on March 19, 2010 in previews and closes June 13, 2010. It is directed by James Lapine
who conceived this revue of music by Stephen Sondheim
.
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...
actress. She is from Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
.
Biography
Kritzer, a 1999 graduate of the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, has also appeared on BroadwayBroadway 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...
in Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
and was the character Serena in Legally Blonde The Musical. Off-Broadway she was seen in The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It was performed in the first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004...
, Bat Boy
Bat Boy: The Musical
Bat Boy: The Musical is a musical with a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe, based on a June 23, 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, dubbed "Bat Boy", found living in a cave....
and Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
, and her regional credits include Vanities
Vanities
Vanities is a comedy-drama stage production written by Jack Heifner. The story centers on the lives and friendship of three Texas cheerleaders starting from high school.-Production history:Vanities had one of the longest Off-Broadway runs on record...
(Kathy), Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.- Production history:...
(Baby Rose), and both Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
(Rizzo) and Funny Girl (Fanny) at Paper Mill Playhouse.
She received a 2006 Drama Desk
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for The Great American Trailer Park Musical, followed by a 2007 Special Achievement MAC Award for her show Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, and a 2007 Clarence Derwent Award
Clarence Derwent Awards
The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers union, in the West End in the United Kingdom....
for her performance as Serena in Legally Blonde.
Kritzer starred in A Catered Affair
A Catered Affair
A Catered Affair is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film The Catered Affair written by Gore Vidal and the original 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky, set in 1953 in the Bronx...
, portraying Janey Hurley, the character played by Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
in the 1956 feature film of the same name. A Catered Affair had its Broadway run from March 2008 through July 27, 2008.
She starred in the Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
staged concert presentation of On the Town in November 2008, as Hildy, the amorous and aggressive taxi driver.
In May 2009 Kritzer performed in the musical "Cabaret" at the Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) portraying the lead role of Sally Bowles.
In the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), Kritzer performed in Judas and Me in the role of the angel Gabriel. In March 2009 Kritzer played Monica 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...
musical Rooms: A Rock Romance. In December 2009 Kritzer performed in the musical "Pop!" at the Yale Reportory Theatre. The musical is based on the life of the late Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. Kritzer portrayed the role of "Valerie", a character based on feminist writer Valerie Solanas.
In March 2010 Kritzer, along with Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
, Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
, and Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals Candide and The Music Man among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter...
star in a new musical revue, Sondheim on Sondheim
Sondheim on Sondheim
Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The revue had a limited run on Broadway in 2010.-Background:...
. The Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
limited engagement production opened at Broadway's Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
on March 19, 2010 in previews and closes June 13, 2010. It is directed by James Lapine
James Lapine
James Lapine is an American stage director and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.-Biography:Lapine was born in Mansfield, Ohio and graduated...
who conceived this revue of music by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
.