Nancy Carol Opel (born December 13, 1956) is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and actress, known primarily for her work 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 ...

. She was nominated for the 2002

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is awarded to the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly ...

for her role in the musical

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 ...

Early life and education

Opel grew up in the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

communities of Prairie Village and

Leawood Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902. History 19th century After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the area ...

, and graduated from

Shawnee Mission East High School Shawnee Mission East High School is a public high school in Prairie Village, Kansas, United States, for grades 9 through 12. It is one of five high schools operated by the Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district. Shawnee Mission East High Sc ...

. She trained at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

Career

Opel was nominated for the 2002

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 ...

for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Penelope Pennywise in ''

''. She has appeared on

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 ...

'' (1979), ''

Teddy & Alice ''Teddy & Alice'' is a musical with a book by Jerome Alden, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and music adapted from the work of John Philip Sousa, with some new songs by Richard Kapp. In its very early stages, Alan Jay Lerner contributed material before he ...

'' (1987), ''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatt ...

'' as Frieda, Betty (1984), ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'' (replacement Hope Harcourt), '' Triumph of Love'' (1997) as Corine ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' (2004) as Yente, ''

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

'' as Mama in 2011 and 2012 and ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' as Madame (the Stepmother) in June 2014 to September 7, 2014. She performed the roles of Mazeppa and Miss Cratchitt in the

Encores! Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Ha ...

staged concert of ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' in 2007. Opel portrayed

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

in the Off-Broadway debut of

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

' one-acter, ''

Words, Words, Words ''Words, Words, Words'' is a one-act play written by David Ives for his collection of six one-act plays, ''All in the Timing''. The play is about Kafka, Milton, and Swift, three intelligent Common chimpanzee, chimpanzees who are put in a cage toge ...

'', which ran at Primary Stages in November 1993 to February 1994 She appeared in another Ives play, ''Polish Joke'', which ran Off-Broadway in a

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has gr ...

production in February to April 2003. Opel played several characters, and was nominated for the 2003 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. Opel played the title character in the first national tour of ''

The Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin (comedian), Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater f ...

'', which started in September 2007.Jones, Kenneth
"Nancy Opel Will Be Drowsy in National Tour"
Playbill, July 18, 2007 In the 2008 rock musical '' The Toxic Avenger'', she played three characters: the Mayor, Toxie's Mother, and a nun. The musical was performed at the

George Street Playhouse George Street Playhouse is a theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the city's Civic Square government and theater district. It's one of the state's preeminent professional theaters committed to the production of new and established ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New World Stages New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue. ...

, starting in April 2009. For this role, she received a 2009

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. From November 2014 to April 2015 she appeared on Broadway in the musical ''

Honeymoon in Vegas ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plot Private Detective ("Private eye") Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) swore to hi ...

'', and was nominated for the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. She played the title role in '' Hello, Dolly!'' at

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box ...

in 2013. She appeared in ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a Musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on t ...

'' at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in September to October 2016, as Carlotta. She appeared in the new musical ''Curvy Widow: The Musical'' at the North Carolina Stage Company in October 2016. It was announced on November 13, 2018, that Opel would be taking over the role of Madame Morrible in the Broadway production of ''

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'' s ...

'', which she did on November 20. In 2022, Opel started portraying Cinderella's Stepmother in the Broadway revival of ''

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 ...

''. She reprised this role in the subsequent 2023 national tour. Opel's television credits include ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'', and '' Law & Order: SVU''. She is also an acting coach.

Personal life

She resides with her daughter in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

.Siegel, Micki
"At Home With Honeymoon in Vegas' Nancy Opel: A Do-It-Yourself Dream Come True"
Playbill, December 8, 2014

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opel, Nancy 1956 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American stage actresses American television actresses American women singers Actresses from Kansas Singers from Kansas 21st-century American women