Mandy Gonzalez
Encyclopedia
Mandy Gonzalez is an American actress and singer, who most recently finished a 10-month run as Elphaba
in the Broadway musical Wicked
.
. She is the daughter of a Mexican
father and her mother is of Polish
and Romania
n heritage. Gonzalez attended Saugus High School in Saugus, California
. She attended the California Institute of the Arts
for one year. Gonzalez then worked as a background singer for Bette Midler
's Millennium Tour (1999–2000). After that she she moved to New York City
, where she worked as a coat check attendant while attending open calls.
that ran Off-Broadway in 2001. Gonzalez won an Obie Award
for her performance.
In 2001, Gonzalez made her debut on Broadway in the role of Princess Amneris in the Tim Rice
/Elton John
musical Aida
as the standby for Idina Menzel
. In 2002, she played the role of Sarah in the short-lived Broadway musical Dance of the Vampires
. She returned to Aida in 2003, playing the lead role, opposite Deborah Cox
and Will Chase
.
In 2005, she appeared in the Broadway
musical Lennon
, based on the life of John Lennon
and Yoko Ono
, She played multiple roles, including Lennon himself. The show played a limited 91 performances on Broadway.
Gonzalez then starred as Nina Rosario in the original Broadway cast of In The Heights
. Gonzalez created the role of Nina in the show's Off-Broadway
production and received a Drama Desk Award
for her portrayal.
Gonzalez had previously been offered the role of Elphaba on the first national tour of Wicked
, which she would have taken over from Carmen Cusack
in November 2008; instead, she declined in order to star in In the Heights, with the role of Elphaba going instead to Donna Vivino
. In 2010, the opportunity finally arose for her to play Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked. She replaced Dee Roscioli
on March 23, 2010. Not long into her run as the green witch, she won the 2010 Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Female Replacement. On January 30, 2011, she played her final performance, after which she was replaced by Teal Wicks
. Gonzalez also had previously appeared in the ensemble in one of the musical's first readings.
(directed by Julie Taymor
), In God's Hands, The Good Wife, Third Watch
, Guiding Light
, and recently finished filming Pieter Gaspersz' After.
She can be heard on the Original Broadway cast Recording of In the Heights, and in the Disney animated film Mulan 2, as the singing voice of Mei.
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 Broadway 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...
.
Early life and education
Gonzalez was born and raised in California's Santa Clarita ValleySanta Clarita Valley
The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant...
. She is the daughter of a Mexican
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
father and her mother is of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n heritage. Gonzalez attended Saugus High School in Saugus, California
Saugus, California
Saugus is a neighborhood in Santa Clarita, California. Saugus was one of the four communities that merged in 1987 to create the city of Santa Clarita. Saugus is named after Saugus, Massachusetts, the hometown of Henry Newhall, upon whose land the town was originally built...
. She attended the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
for one year. Gonzalez then worked as a background singer for Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
's Millennium Tour (1999–2000). After that she she moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she worked as a coat check attendant while attending open calls.
Acting career
Prior to her appearances on Broadway, Gonzalez appeared in the off-Broadway production of Eli's Comin, a musical which was based on the lyrics and music of songwriter Laura NyroLaura Nyro
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
that ran Off-Broadway in 2001. Gonzalez won an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for her performance.
In 2001, Gonzalez made her debut on Broadway in the role of Princess Amneris in the Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
/Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
musical Aida
Aida (musical)
Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical....
as the 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 2002, she played the role of Sarah in the short-lived Broadway musical Dance of the Vampires
Dance of the Vampires
Dance of the Vampires is a musical remake of a 1967 Roman Polanski film of the same name . Polanski also directed the original German production of this musical...
. She returned to Aida in 2003, playing the lead role, opposite Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...
and Will Chase
Will Chase
Will Chase is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in Broadway musicals.Chase was born in Frankfort, Kentucky to Jerry and Betty Chase and is the youngest of three boys...
.
In 2005, she appeared in 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...
musical Lennon
Lennon
The name Lennon can refer to one of several individuals or groups:* John Lennon, singer, musician, poet and songwriter famous as a member of The Beatles** Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon's first wife...
, based on the life of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, She played multiple roles, including Lennon himself. The show played a limited 91 performances on Broadway.
Gonzalez then starred as Nina Rosario in the original Broadway cast of In The Heights
In the Heights
In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights....
. Gonzalez created the role of Nina in the show's 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...
production and received a Drama Desk Award
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...
for her portrayal.
Gonzalez had previously been offered the role of Elphaba on the first national tour of 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 she would have taken over from Carmen Cusack
Carmen Cusack (Actress)
Carmen Cusack is a musical theater actress and singer, best known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, National Tour and Melbourne productions of the hit musical Wicked.-Early life and Career:...
in November 2008; instead, she declined in order to star in In the Heights, with the role of Elphaba going instead to Donna Vivino
Donna Vivino
Donna Vivino is a theatre actress and singer, who recently starred as Elphaba on the First National Tour of Wicked, and is currently the standby for the role on Broadway....
. In 2010, the opportunity finally arose for her to play Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked. She replaced Dee Roscioli
Dee Roscioli
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.-Education:She graduated from Wilson Area High School in 1995 and DeSales University in 1999...
on March 23, 2010. Not long into her run as the green witch, she won the 2010 Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Female Replacement. On January 30, 2011, she played her final performance, after which she was replaced by 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:...
. Gonzalez also had previously appeared in the ensemble in one of the musical's first readings.
Film and T.V.
On screen, Gonzalez can be seen in Across the UniverseAcross the Universe
"Across the Universe" is a song by the English group The Beatles. It was written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the various artists charity compilation album No One's Gonna Change Our World in December 1969, and later, in different form, on Let It Be,...
(directed by Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor is an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor's work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song...
), In God's Hands, The Good Wife, Third Watch
Third Watch
Third Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....
, Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
, and recently finished filming Pieter Gaspersz' After.
She can be heard on the Original Broadway cast Recording of In the Heights, and in the Disney animated film Mulan 2, as the singing voice of Mei.