Megan Lawrence (born 1972) is an American actress best known for her roles on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Among other honors, she has been nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

. She has also appeared

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, in regional theatre and on television.

Life and career

Lawrence grew up near

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Her father was music professor at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

, and her mother taught lower school music. She attended Cincinnati Conservatory for a year and then returned to Baltimore to attend classes at Towson, work as a waitress and consider whether to begin a career in theatre. By the early 1990s, Lawrence began to perform in children's theatre and then adult musicals at a dinner theatre in Maryland.Onofri, Adrienne
"Megan Lawrence: On Top of Her 'Game'"
BroadwayWorld, April 23, 2006, accessed May 3, 2012 At the Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) in the 1990s, Lawrence played, among other roles, Marta in ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

'', Little Red Riding Hood in ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story ...

'' and

Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Press ...

in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

'' (1995), earning

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

nominations for all three roles and winning for ''Into the Woods'' for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical. She played the daughter in

Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musicals, which include ''C ...

's '' Over and Over'' in 1999. She played Frenchy in a '' Grease'' national tour and made her Broadway debut as a replacement for various characters in the original Broadway production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', playing Eponine in 1998 and 1999. She was in the original Off-Broadway cast of ''

Urinetown ''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, burea ...

'' and returned to the show on Broadway as a replacement, eventually playing Little Sally in 2002 and 2003.Megan Lawrence"
ibdb.com, accessed May 3, 2012 Other roles include Hillary Clinton in ''Monica! The Musical'' at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and a role in ''O. Henry's Lovers'' at the Goodspeed Playhouse in 2003. In 2005, she was in ''

Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tent ...

'' in the role of "Lucetta", produced by

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

at the Delacorte Theater (New York City). On television, she has appeared as Joyce on the TV soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

''. Lawrence was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

for her portrayal of Gladys in the 2006 Broadway revival of ''

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 ...

''. She also played Mother and Buddahdalirama in the 2009 revival of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. She starred as Louise in Broadway's 2016 production of "

Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

", at Studio 54.

Personal life

In 1999, she married actor and singer

Kevin Kern Kevin Kern (born Kevin Lark Gibbs on December 22, 1958) is an American pianist, composer and recording artist. He is generally recognized as a representative of new-age music. Born legally blind, Kern is aided in studio by SONAR's accessibilit ...

References

External links

''Notes to MariAnne''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Megan American musical theatre actresses Living people 1972 births University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni Actresses from Maryland Towson University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses