Jessica Molaskey (born January 9, 1962) is an American professional actor and singer of

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

s and

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

s. She has appeared in a dozen Broadway shows, including '' Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Tommy'', '' Crazy for You'', ''

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

'', ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'', '' Cats'', '' City of Angels'', and the first national tour of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. She has premiered theater pieces Off-Broadway, including the

Jason Robert Brown Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...

1995 musical ''

Songs for a New World ''Songs for a New World'' is a work of musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger ...

'', '' A Man of No Importance'', and '' Parade'' at

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 milli ...

, ''Dream True'' at the

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. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...

, Stephen Sondheim's ''Wise Guys'' (New York Theatre Workshop), ''

The Most Happy Fella ''The Most Happy Fella'' is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the 1924 play '' They Knew What They Wanted'' by Sidney Howard. The show i ...

'' as part of the Encores! series at City Center and many world premieres in regional theaters across the US. Molaskey performed the role of Sister Bertha in NBC's ''

The Sound of Music Live! ''The Sound of Music Live!'' is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Broadway musical ''T ...

'' starring Carrie Underwood. She has performed in concert all over the world from Carnegie Hall to Disney Hall and in jazz festivals from Montreal to Monterey. Her songwriting skills can be heard on dozens of recordings, including Cradle and All which she wrote with Ricky Ian Gordon for

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

's ''Build a Bridge'' album and The Greedy Tadpole, part of a commission for McDonald of the Seven Deadly Sins for Carnegie Hall. Her concert Portraits of Joni, as part Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, featured her daughter Madeleine Pizzarelli on guitar and vocals. Molaskey is married to jazz guitarist

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCa ...

Discography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Molaskey, Jessica Torch singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers Living people 1962 births 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers People from Wolcott, Connecticut Singers from Connecticut Jazz musicians from Connecticut Arbors Records artists