Joan Ryan is an American actress and singer, who played Judy Denmark/Ginger Del Marco in the Los Angeles production of ''

Ruthless! ''Ruthless! The Musical'' is an all-female musical with music by Marvin Laird and book and lyrics by Joel Paley that spoofs Broadway musicals, like '' Gypsy'' and ''Mame'', and movies such as '' The Bad Seed'' and ''All About Eve''. The musical ...

'', and Miss Tina Paladrino on '' Good Morning, Miss Bliss'', the television series that became ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

''.

Career

Ryan was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and raised in Newport Beach, California. She attended the advanced training program at the American Conservatory Theater in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and while enrolled, appeared in productions of

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

and

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

as a member of the conservatory's

theater company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Upon completion of the program, Ryan moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where she performed in productions of Little Shop of Horrors,

Footloose Footloose may refer to: * ''Footloose'' (1984 film), a musical film ** ''Footloose'' (1984 soundtrack) ** "Footloose" (song), performed by Kenny Loggins * ''Footloose'' (2011 film), a remake of the 1984 film ** ''Footloose'' (2011 soundtrack) ...

, Angry Housewives, Nite Club Confidential, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 1988, Ryan was cast as Miss Tina Paladrino on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

/ Disney Channel series '' Good Morning, Miss Bliss''. The show ran for a single season on Disney Channel before being moved to

and re-imagined as ''

''. In 1992, ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' was renamed ''Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years'' and incorporated into the ''Saved by the Bell'' syndication package on TBS. In 1993, Ryan appeared as Judy Denmark/Ginger Del Marco in the Los Angeles stage production of ''

Ruthless! The Musical ''Ruthless! The Musical'' is an all-female musical with music by Marvin Laird and book and lyrics by Joel Paley that spoofs Broadway musicals, like ''Gypsy'' and ''Mame'', and movies such as ''The Bad Seed'' and ''All About Eve''. The musical p ...

''. The following year she would also appear on the original cast recording released by

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...

. Alongside her work in theater and television, Ryan also records and performs as a solo vocal artist. Her

one-woman show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

, entitled ''Joan Ryan Live!'', has been performed at clubs including

Feinstein's/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 ...

, Birdland, Catalina Jazz Club, and The Green Room 42, and in 2013 earned Ryan the title of BroadwayWorld's Best Female Cabaret Artist.

Theatre

Film and television

Discography

Cast recordings

* ''Strouse, Schwartz, Schwartz'' (2006) — Kritzerland * ''The Perfect Year: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber'' (2004) — Kritzerland * ''Dream: Lyrics and Music Of Johnny Mercer'' (2003) — LML Music * ''Life Upon the Wicked S.T.A.G.E.'' (2002) — LML Music * ''Everyone Has a Story: The Songs of Adryan Russ'' (2001) — LML Music * ''Lerner, Loewe, Lane & Friends'' (1998) — Varèse Sarabande * ''Sondheim: A Celebration'' (1997) — Varèse Sarabande * ''Ruthless!'' (1994) — Varèse Sarabande * ''George & Ira Gershwin: A Musical Celebration'' (1994) — MCA

Solo albums

*''Joan Ryan'' (1995) — LML Music

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Joan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American film actresses American television actresses American musical theatre actresses American cabaret performers Singers from Pennsylvania 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers