Susan Blackwell
Encyclopedia
Susan Blackwell is an American actress, writer and singer, best known for playing herself in the musical title of show
. She has appeared in other plays, musicals, and television shows including Law & Order
, P.S. I Love You
, and Speech and Debate (play)
. She also hosts her own talk show "Side By Side By Susan Blackwell" on Broadway.com.
in the 2008 Season after a successful extended Off-Broadway
run at the Vineyard Theatre
in 2006.
The musical documents its own creation by two Broadway fans, who want to enter the New York Musical Theatre Festival and struggle to complete the show in three and a half weeks, and their two actress friends. The actors are also the writers and characters of the musical.
Blackwell's character, "Susan," is a quirky performer by night and corporate drone by day—what Blackwell calls a "distillation" of her true personality.
Blackwell became involved in the musical's development early on, through her longstanding friendships with the show's writer, Hunter Bell
, and composer, Jeff Bowen
(who also star in the show, as "Hunter" and "Jeff"). Blackwell had worked with the two men as part of her previous Off-Off-Broadway performing duo, the New Wondertwins.
At the time Bowen and Bell began work on [title of show], Blackwell had decided to abandon performing for a stable, corporate office job.
"I feel really grateful to my friends for rescuing me," she has said of her role in [title of show]. "They airlifted me out of very corporate ascension and plopped me down into this whole other experience."
Later, Blackwell performed Off-Off-Broadway with Rebecca Finnegan as The New Wondertwins, a variety act whose assortment of songs, sketches and daredevil feats included ventriloquism and making deviled eggs in their mouths.
One Village Voice reviewer wrote of the duo in 1999: "Their wordless finale, orchestrated to a space-age bachelor-pad soundtrack, is a tour de force of fascination and horror: never have soy milk and deviled eggs been used to such loathsome effect."
In addition to [title of show]s Off-Broadway and Broadway runs, Blackwell's more recent credits include the Off-Broadway shows Speech and Debate, Anon, Working Title, Vilna's Got a Golem and The Heidi Chronicles (as Peter Patrone).
Blackwell's television appearances include The Sopranos
, Third Watch
, All My Children
, and several episodes of Law & Order
.
Her film credits include P.S. I Love You, Margot at the Wedding, Bun Bun, Changing Lanes and Night Int. Trailer for the feature film Ten Minutes Older.
She is married to musician Steve White.
She has an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Minnesota
.
Title of show
[title of show] is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell. The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and composer/lyricist and their two actress friends during the...
. She has appeared in other plays, musicals, and 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,...
, P.S. I Love You
P.S. I Love You (film)
P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama film directed by Richard LaGravenese. The screenplay by LaGravenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The film is dedicated to the memory of producer Molly Smith's sister Windland Smith Rice.-Plot:Holly and Gerry...
, and Speech and Debate (play)
Speech and Debate (play)
Speech & Debate is a play written by Stephen Karam, which played Off-Broadway at Roundabout Underground. It starred Gideon Glick, Sarah Steele, Jason Fuchs and Susan Blackwell. The play was originally performed as a workshop production at Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre in Providence,...
. She also hosts her own talk show "Side By Side By Susan Blackwell" on Broadway.com.
[title of show]
[title of show], which played 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 the 2008 Season after a successful extended 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...
run at the Vineyard Theatre
Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981...
in 2006.
The musical documents its own creation by two Broadway fans, who want to enter the New York Musical Theatre Festival and struggle to complete the show in three and a half weeks, and their two actress friends. The actors are also the writers and characters of the musical.
Blackwell's character, "Susan," is a quirky performer by night and corporate drone by day—what Blackwell calls a "distillation" of her true personality.
Blackwell became involved in the musical's development early on, through her longstanding friendships with the show's writer, Hunter Bell
Hunter Bell
Hunter Houston Bell is an American book author and one of the stars of the musical [title of show].-Early life:Bell was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was raised in Wilson, North Carolina until the seventh grade, when he moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He moved to New York City in 1993, and currently...
, and composer, Jeff Bowen
Jeff Bowen
Jeff Bowen is an American composer, lyricist and actor. He is best known as one of the authors and stars of the Broadway musical [title of show]. He is currently developing a new musical work titled Now. Here...
(who also star in the show, as "Hunter" and "Jeff"). Blackwell had worked with the two men as part of her previous Off-Off-Broadway performing duo, the New Wondertwins.
At the time Bowen and Bell began work on [title of show], Blackwell had decided to abandon performing for a stable, corporate office job.
"I feel really grateful to my friends for rescuing me," she has said of her role in [title of show]. "They airlifted me out of very corporate ascension and plopped me down into this whole other experience."
Other work
Blackwell began her professional acting career with a two-year stint in the company of Minnesota's Guthrie Theatre before moving to New York in 1995.Later, Blackwell performed Off-Off-Broadway with Rebecca Finnegan as The New Wondertwins, a variety act whose assortment of songs, sketches and daredevil feats included ventriloquism and making deviled eggs in their mouths.
One Village Voice reviewer wrote of the duo in 1999: "Their wordless finale, orchestrated to a space-age bachelor-pad soundtrack, is a tour de force of fascination and horror: never have soy milk and deviled eggs been used to such loathsome effect."
In addition to [title of show]s Off-Broadway and Broadway runs, Blackwell's more recent credits include the Off-Broadway shows Speech and Debate, Anon, Working Title, Vilna's Got a Golem and The Heidi Chronicles (as Peter Patrone).
Blackwell's television appearances include The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, 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....
, All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, and several episodes of 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,...
.
Her film credits include P.S. I Love You, Margot at the Wedding, Bun Bun, Changing Lanes and Night Int. Trailer for the feature film Ten Minutes Older.
Personal
Blackwell was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio.She is married to musician Steve White.
She has an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.