actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
.
Early life
Clarke was born on August 25, 1984 in Friendswood, Texas. She got her start acting and singing in the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
. Clarke is a BFA musical theatre graduate of
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...
.
Career
She first came to national attention for her portrayal of Clara Johnson in the Broadway production, the live
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 ...
broadcast, and the national tour of '' The Light in the Piazza''.
She made her Broadway debut in ''The Light in the Piazza'' on December 9, 2005, at the age of 21, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater under the name "Katie Clarke".McKinley, Jessie "New Stars in Old Parts as Broadway Feels the Chill" ''The New York Times'', January 6, 2006. Clarke succeeded Kelli O'Hara in the part of Clara Johnson, after O'Hara had left the show to play Babe Williams opposite
Harry Connick Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...
in ''
The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell.
The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his c ...
''.
Her other theater credits include
Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas (born April 30, 1951) is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.
Biography
Born on April 30, 1951, he was found abandoned in a car in Atlanta, Georgia. Lucas was adopted when he wa ...
' 2007 play ''Prayer for my Enemy'' at the
Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared.
Fou ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
and the Deborah Abramson/ William Finn musical revue ''Travels With My Discontent'' at the Barrington Stage Company. She also performed in the regional production of TUTS Houston '' Anything Goes'' in the ensemble. She was profiled in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in January 2006.
Clarke then portrayed the role of Glinda on the first national tour of the musical ''
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'' ser ...
''. She succeeded Christina DeCicco on November 6, 2007 and starred alongside
Carmen Cusack
Carmen Cusack (born April 25, 1971) is an American musical theater actress and singer. She is known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, North American Tour, and Melbourne productions of the musical ''Wicked'' and for originating the roles of Al ...
as Elphaba, who was later replaced by her standby
Donna Vivino
Donna Marie Vivino is an American theatre, television, film actress and singer. She is well known for playing Elphaba in the Broadway production of ''Wicked'' and as the original Young Cosette in ''Les Misérables'' on Broadway. She was seen on ...
. She left the company in
San Diego, California
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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...
on August 16, 2009 and was replaced by
Chandra Lee Schwartz
Chandra Lee Schwartz (born August 18, 1981) is an American theatre performer, who played Glinda the Good Witch, Glinda on the First National Tour of ''Wicked (musical), Wicked'' from Friday, 21 August 2009, through Sunday, 17 April 2011. She origin ...
.
She later reprised the role of Glinda at the
Gershwin Theatre
The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New ...
on Broadway on January 14, 2010, replacing
Erin Mackey
Erin Ashley Mackey (born June 19, 1986) is an American stage actress and singer, known for playing the role of Glinda the Good Witch, Glinda in the Chicago, Los Angeles, Broadway theatre, Broadway, and Second National Tour productions of the mus ...
. She starred alongside
Dee Roscioli
Dee Roscioli (born Danielle Marie Roscioli on July 20, 1977) is an American singer and actress, who is known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway, Chicago, San Francisco, and national touring productions of the musical ''Wicked''.
Ea ...
Teal Wicks
Teal Wicks (born September 8, 1982 in Sacramento, California) is an American singer and stage actress, who is best known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway, San Francisco, and Los Angeles productions of the musical ''Wicked'' and as M ...
during her run. Clarke took medical leave in March/April 2011, during which time the role of Glinda was played by Laura Woyasz. Clarke left the Broadway company on September 25, 2011 and was replaced again by Schwartz.
Clarke returned to the 1st National Tour of ''Wicked'' as Glinda on November 15, 2011, replacing Amanda Jane Cooper. She was joined by
Kyle Dean Massey
Kyle Dean Massey (born November 17, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the Broadway musicals ''Wicked'' – for which he has played Fiyero on-and-off from 2007 to 2019 – ''Next to Normal,'' and ''P ...
, who had played the role of Fiyero alongside her in the Broadway production. During this run, she starred opposite Mamie Parris as Elphaba.
She and Massey finished their limited engagement with the tour company on February 23, 2012, with
Alli Mauzey
Alli Mauzey (born in Anaheim Hills, California) is an American actress and singer best known for her performance as Glinda in the Broadway and 1st national tour productions of ''Wicked'' and for originating the role of Lenora in the musical ''C ...
replacing Clarke as Glinda. She returned to the role of Glinda in the Broadway production of ''Wicked'' from April 23, 2013 to September 22, 2013, where she starred alongside Willemijn Verkaik and later Lindsay Mendez. She was replaced by
Alli Mauzey
Alli Mauzey (born in Anaheim Hills, California) is an American actress and singer best known for her performance as Glinda in the Broadway and 1st national tour productions of ''Wicked'' and for originating the role of Lenora in the musical ''C ...
, whom she herself had replaced when she rejoined the show.
In November 2013, Clarke made her cabaret debut at
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 ...
, where she performed a mix of acoustic pop, folk, country, and original songs.
In March 2014, Clarke appeared in the
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 ...
's production of the 1960 musical '' Tenderloin'' as part of their Musicals in Mufti series.
In May 2014, Clarke returned to the
Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared.
Fou ...
The Last Five Years
''The Last Five Years'' is a musical written by Jason Robert Brown. It premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and was then produced Off-Broadway in March 2002. Since then it has had numerous productions both in the United States and ...
''.
In October 2015, Clarke originated the role of Hannah in the Broadway production of '' Allegiance'', which closed in February 2016. She was cast as Ellen in the Broadway revival of ''
Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...
'', which began performances on March 1, 2017 and closed on January 14, 2018. Clarke once again returned to the role of Glinda in the Broadway production of ''Wicked'' beginning December 11, 2018, replacing Amanda Jane Cooper. She starred opposite
Jessica Vosk
Jessica Vosk (born September 30, 1983) is an American singer and actress, known for her work in musical theater.
Vosk is best known for her performance as the lead role of Elphaba in ''Wicked'', which she played on Broadway at the Gershwin The ...
and played her final performance on April 7, 2019, being replaced by Ginna Claire Mason. Clarke currently holds the record for longest-running actress to play the role of Glinda on Broadway.
In 2020, Clarke starred as Tary in the groundbreaking musical podcast, ''Propaganda!''
Personal life
On December 15, 2012 she married Christopher Alan Rogers. Their wedding was held with special memories in
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
and the couple reside in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In April 2018, Clarke announced her pregnancy with her and Rogers' first child, due in June 2018. Clarke gave birth to their daughter Eleanor Rose Rogers on June 18, 2018.
Credits
; Broadway
* ''
Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...
'' as Ellen Scott (2017-2018)
* '' Allegiance'' as Hannah Campbell (2015)
* ''
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'' ser ...
The Last Five Years
''The Last Five Years'' is a musical written by Jason Robert Brown. It premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and was then produced Off-Broadway in March 2002. Since then it has had numerous productions both in the United States and ...
'' as Cathy (2014)
* '' Tenderloin'' (2014)
* '' Anything Goes'' (2007)
* ''Prayer for my Enemy'' as Marianne (2007)
* ''Travels With My Discontent'' (2006)
; National Tours
* ''
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'' ser ...
'' as Glinda (replacement) (2007-2009; 2011-2012)
* '' The Light in the Piazza'' as Clara Johnson
; Readings
* ''
I Can Get It For You Wholesale
''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a musical, produced by David Merrick, music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, wh ...
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
'' as Mrs. Frances Phagan at Lincoln Center (2015)
* ''Back on the Ground'' at
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 ...
(2013)
; Television and Film
* ''Maybe There's a Tree'' as Jane (post-production)
* ''Relevant'' as Sharon (2016-2017) 5 episodes
* '' The Good Wife'' as Reena Booth (2014) 1 episode
*'' Live from Lincoln Center: The Light in the Piazza'' as Clara Johnson / Herself (2006)
; Podcasts
* ''Propaganda! The Podcast Musical'' as Tary (2020)