Janine DiVita is an American actress best known for her roles on Broadway and in musical theater.

Theater career

Janine DiVita played the principal role of Anne in the Michael Greif-directed first national tour of '' If/Then'', a role originally played by

Jenn Colella Jenn Colella (born Jennifer Lin Colella) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a comedian and then branched out into musical theater. In her New York debut in ''Urban Cowboy'', she earned a 2003 Outer Critics Circle Award no ...

. DiVita played opposite

LaChanze Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (; born December 16, 1961), is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson ...

in the first part of the tour and acts alongside

Tamyra Gray Tamyra Monica Gray (born July 26, 1979) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, who finished fourth place on the first season of the musical reality competition ''American Idol'' in 2002. Post ''American Idol'', Gray has begun acting on B ...

. She also played Mary Barrie in the first national tour of '' Finding Neverland'', directed by Diane Paulus. BroadwayWorld review of ''If/Then'' in Phoenix noted the tour was "further blessed by the appearance of DiVita," who "stands out for her vibrant moves and vocals." And the Dallas review noted that "her epic voice adds new life to the show, particularly in Act Two's 'Love While You Can.'" On Broadway, DiVita has performed in the latest revival of '' Grease'' (Rizzo) directed by Kathleen Marshall, '' Anything Goes'' (Reno cover), and '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (sole cover for Edwin Drood and Rosa Bud). She also played Elizabeth in the first national tour of

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...

' ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...

'', directed by

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include '' The Producers'', '' Crazy for You'', ''Contact'', and '' The Scottsboro Boys''. She i ...

. Her Off-Broadway/NYC roles includes Pearl Kantrowitz in the stage adaptation of film " A Walk on the Moon" (directed by Michael Greif, New York Stage and Film) and Hannie in "Roadside" (

York Theatre Company York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each seas ...

). DiVita has starred in roles at regional theaters. These roles and theaters include Nancy in ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'' at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia (DiVita was nominated for a

Barrymore Award The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre is an annual, nationally recognized award program by Theatre Philadelphia for professional theater productions in the Greater Philadelphia area. Each season culminates in the Fall with an awards cerem ...

for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical) and Eva Perón in ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'' DiVita is the only University of Michigan graduate to have received both the inaugural Alan Eisenberg / Actor's Equity Association award for achievement in musical theater and the Earl V. Moore Award for achievement in musical theatre.

Concert work

DiVita has performed at Broadway Rox (national and international tours), Atlanta Symphony,

Edmonton Symphony The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to cou ...

, Omaha Symphony, Madison Square Garden (National Anthem), Foxwoods Casino, Casino Rama (Canada),

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, Canal Room, and

54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

in which DiVita premiered her two solo shows: "Blonde Ammunition" and "Lit: Modern Broad".

Film and television

DiVita appears in seasons 2 and 3 of "The Deuce" opposite Luke Kirby and as "Jennifer" in Gravesend (Amazon). Other credits include Irish Tenor Paul Byrom in "This Is The Moment" PBS special (Dir.

Brent Carpenter Brent Carpenter is an American television director, editor, cinematographer and producer. Career As an editor he worked on the television series ''Empty Nest'', ''The Ben Stiller Show'', ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', ''Sessions'' and working on ...

) in which she appears as a guest artist singing the duet "Somewhere", The Americans, and Elementary. She appears in the feature film, "

Boychoir A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as '' ...

" (directed by Francois Gerard) in which she plays the supporting role of Sally opposite

Josh Lucas Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including '' American Psycho'' (2000), '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), '' The Deep End'' (2001), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (20 ...

and

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

Personal life

DiVita graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in which she double majored in Musical Theatre and Communication Studies. She is a former reporter for WOLV-TV at the University of Michigan, an alumni member of Alpha Phi sorority, and current ambassador for Global Citizen. She serves as the Director of the USO Show Troupe and is the co-founder of Empowered Voices, a prevention education company.

Film and television credits

{, class="wikitable" !Year !Film / TV !Production !Role !Network / Production Co. !Notes , - , 2014 , Film , ''

'' , Sally ,

Informant Media An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

, co-stars:

, - , 2013 , TV , ''This Is The Moment'' , (as herself) ,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, co-stars: Irish Tenor Paul Byrom , - , 2018 , TV , '' The Deuce'' , Amy Goldman ,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, co-stars: James Franco,

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, Naomi Achs, and the older sister o ...

References

External links

* * Janine DiVita's Instagram
@janinedivita
* Janine DiVita's Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:DiVita, Janine American musical theatre actresses Living people University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American actresses