Christine "Christy" Altomare is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress and singer-songwriter. Altomare played Wendla in the first national tour of the

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept ...

'' Spring Awakening'', played Sue Snell in the off-Broadway revival of ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

'', and made her Broadway debut as Sophie in '' Mamma Mia!''. She originated the titular role in the Broadway premiere of ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

'', earning favorable reviews. The show closed on Broadway on March 31, 2019, after a total of 808 regular shows and 34 previews.

Early life

Altomare began performing at age five in community theater productions in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...

. At

Pennsbury High School Pennsbury High School is a public high school located in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is part of Pennsbury School District. With 3,206 students enrolled for the 2017–2018 school year, Pennsbury High School is the large ...

, she was a part of choirs and school productions before attending University of Cincinnati's Conservatory of Music, where she performed in a number of productions. In 2004, she was a

National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts YoungArts (previously National YoungArts Foundation and National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, or NFAA) is an American charity established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to help nurture emerging high-school artists. The foundation is bas ...

winner in the musical theater category. She graduated from CCM in 2008 with a BFA in Musical Theater.

Personal life

In December 2018, Altomare announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Philip “Pete” Browning. In October 2020, she announced their separation via Twitter. On February 7, 2022, Altomare announced her engagement to her middle school crush, Chris Crook. They married in September 2022, at Lambertville Station, New Jersey.

Career

Altomare began writing songs at the age of twelve. She has three independent CDs: ''Not Yet Over You'' (2000), ''Waiting For You'' (2007), and an EP entitled ''After You'' (2008). When she was sixteen, she signed with her current manager, Edie Robb. She looks to Jewel and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

as her biggest influences. In 2008, Altomare joined the first national touring cast of the Broadway musical '' Spring Awakening'' in the lead role of Wendla, beginning previews on August 15, 2008, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. She traveled to 44 different cities and gave over 600 performances. She stayed with the tour until its final performance on May 23, 2010. Altomare received generally positive reviews throughout the tour. Seth Kubersky of ''Orlando Weekly'' called her "appropriately innocent and adorable as the inevitable victim" while Eric Rezsnyak of the ''Rochester City Paper'' praised her "piercing, haunting

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

voice," and how "even her most difficult melodic passes seem totally effortless." Following the ''Spring Awakening'' tour, Altomare appeared as

Sue Snell Susan D. Snell is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King in his first published 1974 horror novel, '' Carrie''. She is a popular teenage girl dating Tommy Ross. After tormenting Carrie White in the locker room, Sue begins ...

MCC Theater MCC Theater (Manhattan Class Company) is an off-Broadway theater company located in New York City, founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey and William Cantler. Blake West joined the company in 2006 as executive direc ...

's limited-engagement run of the Off-Broadway revival of ''

'' at the

Lucille Lortel Theatre The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior is largely unch ...

. She can be heard on the official cast recording of the production, released by

Ghostlight Records Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second ...

. On June 4, 2012, Altomare made her Broadway debut in '' Mamma Mia!'' at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

, where she replaced Liana Hunt in the role of Sophie Sheridan. She stayed with the Broadway company for a year, ending her contract on June 1, 2013, and was replaced by Laurie Veldheer. From October 30, 2014, until January 4, 2015, Altomare starred as Guinevere in the Drury Lane Theatre's production of ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

''. On March 9, 2016, it was announced that Altomare would star in the world premiere of the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

adaptation of the 1997 animated film ''

'' in the title role (nicknamed Anya). The show ran from May 13 - June 19, 2016 at Hartford Stage in Connecticut. Altomare received critical acclaim for her performance, winning the

Connecticut Critics Circle The Connecticut Critics Circle is an organization of reviewers, feature writers, columnists, and broadcasters throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. It was founded in 1990 Mission statement "To honor the actors, director ...

Award. She reprised the role on Broadway at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed ...

. Previews began March 23, 2017, and the show officially opened April 24, 2017. Altomare's performance in the Broadway production earned her positive reviews and numerous award wins and nominations including a 2017 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical. During ''Anastasias run, Altomare filmed a series of video blogs for Broadway.com titled ''Royal Misfits: Backstage at Anastasia with Christy Altomare'', giving an inside look at life backstage at the production. She continued with the production through its final Broadway performance, on March 31, 2019. Altomare played Nellie in a concert version of ''South Pacific'' at the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

on July 22, 2019. Since the closing of ''Anastasia'', Altomare has performed frequently in the ''Broadway Princess Party'' concert both in New York City and occasionally touring in selected cities across North America alongside fellow original Broadway princesses

Laura Osnes Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, '' South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, ''Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcourt, ...

Susan Egan Susan Farrell Egan (born February 18, 1970) is an American actress, singer and dancer, known for her work on the Broadway stage. She is best known for originating the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1 ...

Courtney Reed Courtney Rhodes Reed (born August 10, 1984) is an American actress, best known for originating the role of Princess Jasmine in Disney's ''Aladdin on Broadway.'' Early life Reed was born and raised in Elgin, Illinois to a Caucasian American fa ...

, and more. On January 16, 2020, it was announced that Altomare would star in the new musical '' The Wanderer'' as Susan alongside ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' alums Michael Wartella as

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...

and

Joey McIntyre Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (born December 31, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the youngest member of the pioneering boy band, New Kids on the Block. He has sold over one million records worldwide as a solo a ...

as Johnny, running May 28 through June 28 at

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live in ...

prior to a Broadway transfer. However, the production was pushed back to 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In February 2021, Altomare announced that she would release a solo album of original music, titled ''Wandering Bird'', later that year. On April 9th, 2021, Altomare released the album as a surprise drop on her YouTube music page and on Spotify.

Theatre

Discography

* ''Not Yet Over You'' (2000) * ''Waiting For You'' (2007) * ''After You: LA Sessions - EP'' (2009) * ''Wandering Bird'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Altomare's website
*
Christy Altomare
at

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altomare, Christy Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American actresses American women singer-songwriters American musical theatre actresses American sopranos American stage actresses Pennsbury High School alumni People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Theatre World Award winners University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni University of Cincinnati alumni Year of birth missing (living people)