Suzanne Graff is an American actress.

Biography

A native of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, Graff performed onstage for several seasons at the American Folklore Theatre (AFT) in shows such as ''Lumberjacks in Love'' which became one of the company's biggest box office hits. She originated the role of the wisecracking jill-of-all-trades secretary Charlene “Charlie” Osmanski in the

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 ...

production of '' Zombies from The Beyond'' and played the role of the Effy, the gossipy postwoman, in the regional production of ''

The Spitfire Grill ''The Spitfire Grill'' (also known as ''Care of the Spitfire Grill'') is a 1996 American film written and directed by Lee David Zlotoff and starring Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney and Gailard Sa ...

''. Other New York credits include performances in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'' with the

Riverside Shakespeare Company The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional ( AEA) theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski. Focusing on Shakespeare plays and other classical ...

. She has performed in national tours of ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

'', ''As You Like It'', ''Oedipus'' and ''

A Midsummer Night’s Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''. In

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, she has appeared at the

Skylight Opera Theatre Skylight Music Theatre, known until January 2012 as Skylight Opera Theatre, is a professional light opera and musical theatre company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway T ...

and Theatre Tesseract. Other regional credits include ''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...

'' at the

Indiana Repertory Theatre Indiana Repertory Theatre, frequently abbreviated IRT, is a professional regional theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana that began as a genuine repertory theatre with its casts performing in multiple shows at once. It has subsequently become a regio ...

and in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

at the Great American History Theatre and the

Jon Hassler Theater The Jon Hassler Theater was a professional live theater located in Plainview, Minnesota. In November 2013 it was announced that the Hassler would be closing at the end of 2014. History In 1999 the International Harvester Implement building wa ...

. Since 1998, Graff and her husband, Jerry Gomis, have collaborated as producers for Door Shakespeare theatre, where her acting credits have included roles in productions such as ''Twelfth Night'', ''the Merchant of Venice'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' and ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

''. She studied with acting teachers such as

Paul Sills Paul Sills (born Paul Silverberg; November 18, 1927 – June 2, 2008) was an American director and improvisation teacher, and the original director of Chicago's The Second City. Life and career Sills was born Paul Silverberg in Chicago, Illinois ...

and trained with the

National Shakespeare Conservatory The National Shakespeare Conservatory was an acting school in New York City, offering a two-year certificate program and an eight-week summer training program. The Conservatory was founded in 1974 by Philip Meister, Albert Schoemann and Mario Sil ...

in New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graff, Suzanne American stage actresses University of Delaware alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from Milwaukee 21st-century American women