Nancy Opel

{{Infobox person

| name = Nancy Opel

| image = Don't Cry For Me (15422446181).jpg

| caption = Opel performing in 2006.

| imagesize =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1956}}

| birth_place = Kansas, U.S.

| alma_mater = Juilliard School

| occupation = Actress

| notable_works =

| spouse =

| children = 1

| yearsactive = 1978–present

}}

Nancy Carol Opel is an American singer and actress, known primarily for her work on Broadway. She was nominated for the 2002 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the role of Penelope Pennywise in the musical Urinetown.

Life and career

Opel grew up in the Kansas communities of Prairie Village and Leawood, and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School. She trained at the Juilliard School.

She has appeared on Broadway in Evita as Eva Perón (1979),[http://www.playbill.com/production/evita-broadway-theatre-vault-0000012263 Evita] Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016 Teddy & Alice (1987),[http://www.playbill.com/production/teddy-alice-minskoff-theatre-vault-0000002341 Teddy & Alice] Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016 Sunday in the Park with George as Frieda / Betty (1984),[http://www.playbill.com/production/sunday-in-the-park-with-george-st-james-theatre-vault-0000004176# Sunday in the Park with George] Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016 Anything Goes (replacement Hope Harcourt),[http://www.playbill.com/personlistpage/person-list?production=00000150-aea7-d936-a7fd-eef7e2e70002&type=op# Anything Goes] Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016 Triumph of Love (1997) as Corine[http://www.playbill.com/production/triumph-of-love-royale-theatre-vault-0000010190# Triumph of Love] Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016 Fiddler on the Roof (2004) as Yente,[http://www.playbill.com/production/fiddler-on-the-roof-minskoff-theatre-vault-0000002329# Fiddler on the Roof] Playbill (vault), accessed December 13, 2016 Memphis as Mama in 2011 and 2012 andHetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/article/memphis-welcomes-back-tony-nominee-nancy-opel-feb-14-com-187451# " 'Memphis' Welcomes Back Tony Nominee Nancy Opel Feb. 14"] Playbill, February 14, 2012 Cinderella as Madame (the Stepmother) in June 2014 to September 7, 2014.McPhee, Ryan. [http://www.broadway.com/buzz/176556/look-out-tony-nominee-nancy-opel-is-cinderellas-newest-madame-on-broadway/ "Look Out! Tony Nominee Nancy Opel Is Cinderella's Newest Madame on Broadway"] broadway.com, June 30, 2014 She performed the roles of Mazeppa and Miss Cratchitt in the Encores! staged concert of Gypsy in 2007.

Opel portrayed Kafka in the Off-Broadway debut of David Ives' one-acter, Words, Words, Words, which ran at Primary Stages in November 1993 to February 1994[http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=939 All in the Timing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095303/http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=939 |date=2014-02-23 }} Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed December 13, 2016Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/03/theater/review-theater-all-in-the-timing-merrily-sputtering-along.html "Review/Theater: 'All in the Timing'; Merrily Sputtering Along"] The New York Times, December 3, 1993 She appeared in another Ives play, Polish Joke, which ran Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production in February to April 2003. Opel played several characters, and was nominated for the 2003 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.[http://www.lortel.org/Archives/Production/2335 Polish Joke] Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed December 14, 2016

Opel played the title character in the first national tour of The Drowsy Chaperone, which started in September 2007.Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/nancy-opel-will-be-drowsy-in-national-tour-com-142334# "Nancy Opel Will Be Drowsy in National Tour"] Playbill, July 18, 2007

In the 2008 rock musical The Toxic Avenger, she played three characters: the Mayor, Toxie's Mother, and a nun. The musical was performed at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey in October 2008.{{Cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/nyregion/new-jersey/19theatnj.html?ref=new-jersey |author=Stephen Wells |author-link=Stephen Wells |title=Protecting the Environment, With Monstrous Fervor |newspaper=New York Times| date=October 17, 2008}} She appeared in the musical Off-Broadway at New World Stages, starting in April 2009. For this role, she received a 2009 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.[http://www.lortel.org/Archives/Production/4855 The Toxic Avenger ] lortel.org, accessed December 13, 2016

From November 2014 to April 2015 she appeared on Broadway in the musical Honeymoon in Vegas, and was nominated for the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.Gioia, Michael; Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/the-honeymoon-is-over-broadways-honeymoon-in-vegas-starring-tony-danza-to-close-com-345608# "The Honeymoon Is Over! Broadway's 'Honeymoon in Vegas', Starring Tony Danza, To Close"] Playbill, March 31, 2015[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/honeymoon-in-vegas-497532#awards ' Honeymoon in Vegas Awards"] ibdb.com, accessed December 13, 2016

She played the title role in Hello, Dolly! at Ford's Theatre in 2013.Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/dc-hello-dolly-with-broadways-nancy-opel-as-the-matchmaker-begins-march-15-com-203406# "DC 'Hello, Dolly!', With Broadway's Nancy Opel as the Matchmaker, Begins March 15"] Playbill, March 15, 2013 She appeared in Follies at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in September to October 2016, as Carlotta.Hetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/article/follies-with-christiane-noll-emily-skinner-and-nancy-opel-begins-tonight# " 'Follies', With Christiane Noll, Emily Skinner and Nancy Opel, Begins Tonight"] Playbill, September 7, 2016 She appeared in the new musical Curvy Widow: The Musical at the North Carolina Stage Company in October 2016.Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/nancy-opel-will-head-cast-of-new-musical-curvy-widow# "Nancy Opel Will Head Cast of New Musical 'Curvy Widow' "] Playbill, October 6, 2016

It was announced on November 13, 2018, that Opel would be taking over the role of Madame Morrible in the Broadway production of Wicked, which she did from November 20, 2018 to January 20, 2020.Rickwald, Bethany. [https://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/wicked-nancy-opel-jamie-jackson-jesse-jp-johnson_87024.html "Wicked Announces Nancy Opel and More Will Join Its Cast"] Theater Mania, November 13, 20218

In 2021 Opel portrayed Carrie Chapman Catt in the historical musical The Suffragist, about the lives of Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Lucy Burns, and Anna Howard Shaw. The production was written by Cavan Hallman, with music by Nancy Hill Cobb, directed by Rachel Klein, and performed at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center.

{{cite web | url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Nancy-Opel-to-Star-in-the-World-Premiere-Musical-THE-SUFFRAGIST-20200820 | title=Nancy Opel to Star in the World Premiere Musical THE SUFFRAGIST }}

{{cite web | url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2021/07/14/broadway-scale-musical-made-iowa-premiere-cedar-falls-the-suffragist-nancy-hill-cobb/7622383002/ | title='The Suffragist,' an Iowa-made musical, holds its long-delayed world premiere in Cedar Falls | website=The Des Moines Register }}

{{cite web | url=https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/2021/05/21/iowa-made-musical-the-suffragist-casts-broadway-veteran-key-role-alice-paul-cathryn-wake/5183087001/ | title=New Iowa-made musical 'The Suffragist' casts Broadway veteran in key role }}

In 2022, Opel started portraying Cinderella's Stepmother in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods.{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Nancy-Opel-Aymee-Garcia-Alysia-Velez-More-Join-INTO-THE-WOODS-on-Broadway-20220608|title=Nancy Opel, Aymee Garcia, Alysia Velez & More Join INTO THE WOODS on Broadway|first=Chloe|last=Rabinowitz|work=Broadway World|date=June 8, 2022|accessdate=June 19, 2022}} She reprised this role in the subsequent 2023 national tour.{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/broadways-into-the-woods-revival-will-journey-across-the-u-s-on-tour|title=Broadway's Into the Woods Revival Will Journey Across the U.S. On Tour|first=Talaura|last=Harms|work=Playbill|date=December 6, 2022|accessdate=December 6, 2022}}

Opel's television credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: SVU. She is also an acting coach.McGee, Celia. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/theater/12McGee.html "The Rock Mama in Sensible Shoes"] The New York Times, April 8, 2009

Personal life

She resides with her daughter in Manhattan.Siegel, Micki. [http://www.playbill.com/article/at-home-with-honeymoon-in-vegas-nancy-opel-a-do-it-yourself-dream-come-true-com-336493# "At Home With Honeymoon in Vegas' Nancy Opel: A Do-It-Yourself Dream Come True"] Playbill, December 8, 2014