Stephanie Umoh
Encyclopedia
Stephanie Jean Umoh is an American
stage actress.
She played the role of Sarah in the 2009 Broadway theatre
revival of the musical Ragtime
which performed from Nov 15, 2009 to Jan 10, 2010.
, Texas
, where she attended the Lewisville High School
, graduating in 2004.
She then attended The Boston Conservatory
in Boston
, Massachusetts
, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
in musical theatre
. She studied with Merril Shea, a voice teacher, with her senior emphasis in acting.
While a student at conservatory Umoh appeared in productions of The Violet Hour
(play), as Jesse; Into the Woods
(musical), as Cinderella; and The Life
(musical), as Queen. She also appeared as Serena in the workshop production
of Lucky Duck directed by book and lyrics writer Bill Russell
.
Umoh also appeared as Sarah in Ragtime at the New Repertory Theatre
in Watertown
, Massachusetts. For this performance she was nominated for a Elliot Norton Award and an IRNE Award. She would ultimately revive her role on Broadway.
She has appeared Off Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company
's workshop producction of The Tin Pan Alley Rag, as Freedie/Treemonisha. She has also participated in theatrical readings of Luck!, at the York Theatre
, and Time After Time. She played Mona in Hunter Foster
's theatrical adaption of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde
at the Westside Theatre
.
Her additional regional theater credits include Hair
at The Connecticut Repertory Company and Johnny Baseball at the American Repertory Theater.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage actress.
She played the role of Sarah in the 2009 Broadway theatre
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...
revival of the musical Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
which performed from Nov 15, 2009 to Jan 10, 2010.
Early life, education and early career
Umoh was born in LewisvilleLewisville, Texas
Lewisville is a city in Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2010 United States Census placed the population at 95,290 within . The city also includes of Lewisville Lake....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where she attended the Lewisville High School
Lewisville High School
Lewisville High School, the oldest of five high schools in the Lewisville Independent School District, is located in Lewisville, Texas. It was opened in 1897, making it the only school in the district to have celebrated its 100th anniversary....
, graduating in 2004.
She then attended The Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
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...
, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in 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...
. She studied with Merril Shea, a voice teacher, with her senior emphasis in acting.
While a student at conservatory Umoh appeared in productions of The Violet Hour
The Violet Hour
The Violet Hour is a play by Richard Greenberg. It was commissioned by and originally produced by South Coast Repertory with Hamish Linklater as Seavering and Mario Cantone as Gidger. It received its Broadway debut on November 6, 2003 when the Manhattan Theatre Club produced it as the first play...
(play), as Jesse; Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
(musical), as Cinderella; and The Life
The Life (musical)
The Life is a musical with a book by David Newman, Ira Gasman and Cy Coleman, music by Coleman, and lyrics by Gasman.Based on an original idea by Gasman, the show explores the underbelly of Times Square's 42nd Street, inhabited by pimps and prostitutes, druggies and dealers, and runaways and street...
(musical), as Queen. She also appeared as Serena in the workshop production
Workshop production
Workshop production is a term used to describe the first performance of a theatre production, similar to the term premiere, the difference being that a workshop production often pays less for the rights to perform the play, in exchange for losing the right to call its performance a premiere...
of Lucky Duck directed by book and lyrics writer Bill Russell
Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...
.
Career
While still a student she appeared in U.S. regional-theater professional productions of Zanna, Don't! (musical), as Kate, and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, as Viveca (Bubbly), both at the Speakeasy Stage Company in Boston.Umoh also appeared as Sarah in Ragtime at the New Repertory Theatre
New Repertory Theatre
The New Repertory Theatre is a Boston-area Regional theater company based in Watertown, Massachusetts.The New Repertory Theatre " is the third largest theatre in the Greater Boston area. It presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in intimate settings." The artistic director is...
in Watertown
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, Massachusetts. For this performance she was nominated for a Elliot Norton Award and an IRNE Award. She would ultimately revive her role on Broadway.
She has appeared Off Broadway in 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...
's workshop producction of The Tin Pan Alley Rag, as Freedie/Treemonisha. She has also participated in theatrical readings of Luck!, at the York Theatre
York Theatre
The York Theatre is an Off-Broadway theatre at 619 Lexington Avenue at the corner of 54th Street in the East Midtown section of Manhattan, New York City. It is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each season consists of three or...
, and Time After Time. She played Mona in Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster is an American musical theatre actor/singer, librettist and playwright.-Early life:Foster was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, but raised in Augusta, Georgia and Troy, Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Michigan in 1992...
's theatrical adaption of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
at the Westside Theatre
Westside Theatre
__notoc__The Westside Theatre is an off-Broadway venue located at 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses two auditoriums: the Upstairs theater, which seats 299, and the Downstairs theater, which...
.
Her additional regional theater credits include 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...
at The Connecticut Repertory Company and Johnny Baseball at the American Repertory Theater.