Tessa Kay Kosta (December 12, 1890 – August 23, 1981) was an American actress who starred in Broadway musicals and operettas during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Early life and career

Kosta was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Edward and Emma Kosta. Her parents came to America from Hungary the year of her birth, settling first in Chicago and then San Francisco where her father worked as a

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

. Sometime after the turn of the twentieth century Kosta’s family moved to

Ely, Nevada Ely (, ) is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. In 1906 copper was discovered. Ely's mining boom came later than ...

where she graduated from Ely High School in 1907. Prior to entering college at Salt Lake City, she studied music at the Holy Rosary Academy in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

."Ely Girl is now with ''Madame Sherry''", ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (Reno, Nevada); Tuesday, February 28, 1911; p. 7b Kosta’s break came in February 1911 when producer George W. Lederer plucked her from the chorus to play the title role Yvonne Sherry in road productions of his hit Broadway musical, ''Madame Sherry''. She stayed with ''Madame Sherry'' for over a year to positive reviews before touring in late 1912 as Claudine with the musical comedy ''The Pink Lady'' opposite Olga De Baugh and Harry Depp.

Broadway and later years

Her adult Broadway debut came on April 13, 1914, at the Astor Theatre as Anna Budd in the musical comedy ''The Beauty Shop''. Kosta’s Broadway career would span at least fifteen years, with ''

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of ''Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tale of ...

'' (1917/18), ''Lassie'' (1920), ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat''

he courageous soldier He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

or ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...

'' (1921/22), ''Caroline'' (1923) and ''Song of the Flame'' (1926) among her more memorable productions. She last appeared on Broadway in 1929 at

Jolson's 59th Street Theatre The New Century Theatre was a Broadway theater in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at 205–207 West 58th Street and 926–932 Seventh Avenue. Opened on October 6, 1921, as Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, the theater was desi ...

playing the multiple roles Musette, Irma and Lieutenant Fedor in '' The Fortune Teller''. Kosta was married to Richard J. Madden, a theatrical agent, and was a member of the board of directors of the Episcopal Actors Guild, the Ziegfeld Girl’s Club and the Twelfth Night Club. She made numerous trips abroad over the decades following her retirement from the stage. Kosta died in Manhattan of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1981 at the age of 90. Her husband had died some years earlier."Tessa Kosta, a Star of the Musical Stage Early in the Century", ''The New York Times'', August 26, 1981; p. D23

References and Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosta, Tessa 1890 births 1981 deaths American musical theatre actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Chicago People from Ely, Nevada 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers