Faith Prince (born August 6, 1957) is an American actress and singer, best known 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 ...

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. She won the

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 c ...

as Best Actress in ''Guys and Dolls'' in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations.

Life and career

Prince was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Geor ...

, and raised in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mounta ...

, where she attended E.C. Glass High School, and later studied theater at the

University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the ...

. She made her Broadway debut as the ''Gypsy'' character Tessie Tura in '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' (1989) and followed this with a role in the ill-fated '' Nick & Nora''. She was established as a Broadway star with her portrayal of Miss Adelaide in the 1992 revival of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'', for which she won both the Tony and

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. F ...

as Best Actress in a Musical. In 2001, Prince was once again nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her portrayal of Ella Peterson in the revival of '' Bells Are Ringing''. She was featured in the 2008 Broadway musical ''

A Catered Affair :''The article is about the stage musical. For the 1956 film, see The Catered Affair.'' ''A Catered Affair'' is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film ''The Catered Affa ...

'', for which she received Tony and Drama Desk nominations. She appeared in a concert version of '' Sweeney Todd'' with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, Florida in March 2009. On April 7, 2009, she took over the role of Ursula from

Heidi Blickenstaff Heidi Blickenstaff (born December 28, 1971) is an American actress based in New York City best known for playing a version of herself in the musical '' itle of show' during its Off-Broadway and Broadway runs, as well as for originating the role ...

in the Broadway musical '' The Little Mermaid''. She appeared in such films as '' The Last Dragon'' (1985), ''

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

'' (1993), '' Picture Perfect'' (1997), and '' Our Very Own'' (2005), among others. Her television credits include the short-lived '' High Society'' (1995); recurring roles on ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor' ...

'' (1997–2000) and '' Huff'' (2004–2005), as well as guest appearances on such shows as ''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

'', ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'', ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

'', ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

'', and '' Happy Endings''. A live recording of her 2005

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 dinin ...

debut at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

, at

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 ...

, entitled ''A Leap of Faith'', was released on the DRG Records label. A second recording, titled ''Total Faith'' was recorded at the Royal Room,

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intrac ...

.Kramer, Peter
"Faith Prince at Caramoor"
lohud.com, May 4, 2010 She has participated in studio recordings of scores from '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' and

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...

's unproduced musical, '' Miss Spectacular''. She performs her cabaret act in various venues, such as the Orange County Performing Arts Center, California, in April 2010 and Caramoor, New York, in May 2010. Prince appeared in the concert version (and accompanying recording) of the revue '' Life Begins at 8:40'' at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, on March 22, 2010. She also performed the closing show in the 2002–2003 theatre season at Eisenhower Hall at West Point. Prince played Mrs. Wilkinson in the second United States national tour of ''

Billy Elliot the Musical ''Billy Elliot: The Musical'' is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a ...

'', which began performances in October 2010 and ended in August 2011. In 2012, Prince worked with long-term friend

Jason Graae Jason Graae (pronounced "grah" or "graw", but not "gray") (born 15 May 1958) is an American musical theater actor, best known for his musical theater performances but with a varied career spanning Broadway, opera, television and film. He has ...

on ''

The Prince and the Showboy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', a show which pays tribute to composer

('' La Cage aux Folles'', '' Hello Dolly!'') whom Graae described as "a survivor of the highest degree holives his life as an eternal optimist." Prince and Graae won the New York Nightlife Award for outstanding musical comedy performer in January 2013. She returned to the Broadway stage replacing

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

as Miss Hannigan in the revival of ''Annie'' beginning July 19, 2013. She then appeared as Shirley in the Broadway production of ''

Disaster! Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! was a dark ride attraction at Universal Studios Florida. Set on a soundstage of a fictitious movie company, ''Disaster!'' was based on the park's former Earthquake: The Big One ride, which ...

''. She also had a recurring role in the

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

sitcom,

Melissa & Joey ''Melissa & Joey'' is an American television sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence that aired for four seasons between 2010 and 2015 on ABC Family (now Freeform). The series follows local politician Mel Burke (Hart) and Joe Longo ...

, as Gloria Longo and the Fox musical drama ''

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

'' as Nellie Cantrell.

Personal life

Prince has been married to trumpeter Larry Lunetta since 1992; the couple resides in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, with their son. She was predeceased by her brother, Philip. Prince is a Presbyterian.

Stage productions

* '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' (1989) * '' Falsettoland'' (1990) * ''

'' (1992 revival) * ''

What's Wrong with This Picture? What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * '' Wha ...

'' (1994) * ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' (1996 revival) * '' Little Me'' (1998 revival) * '' James Joyce's The Dead'' (2000) * ''

The Torch-Bearers ''The Torch-Bearers'' is a 1922 stage play by George Kelly about a housewife who becomes an actress (the original actress became a widow and withdrew) while her husband is away on business, with Act I being the rehearsal at their home, Act II is ...

'' (2000) * ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'' (2001 revival) * '' Bells Are Ringing'' (2001 revival) * '' A Man of No Importance'' (2002) * ''

'' (2008) * '' The Little Mermaid'' (2009) * ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...

'' (Second National Tour) (2010–2011) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Annie'' (2013–2014) * ''

'' (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Faith 1957 births Living people Actresses from Virginia American musical theatre actresses American television actresses University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni Musicians from Lynchburg, Virginia Tony Award winners Drama Desk Award winners Actresses from Augusta, Georgia Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Singers from Virginia Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers