Jennifer Damiano

Jennifer Damiano (born May 12, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 2006 as an ensemble member in the original production of ''Spring Awakening'', and went on to originate the role of Natalie Goodman in the musical ''Next to Normal'', for which she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award at age 17. Her other Broadway roles include Mary Jane Watson in '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' in 2011 and Jean in the 2016 musical '' American Psycho'', in addition to a number of roles off-Broadway.

Early life

Damiano was born in White Plains, New York to Mark and Nancy Damiano. Her father, Mark, owns an amusement company, and her mother Nancy works at a hospital. When she was nine years old, she began taking voice lessons and joined a children's theatre, The Random Farms Kids' Theater, playing parts such as Dorothy Gale in '' The Wizard of Oz'', the title role in ''Cinderella'', Gertrude McFuzz in ''Seussical'' and Marion Paroo in ''The Music Man''. As Damiano began her acting career, she stayed enrolled in her hometown's public high school, where she graduated in 2009.

Career

Early career

At the age of nine, Damiano made her professional debut in New York City playing Samantha and Josefina in a show based on the American Girl dolls. While continuing to participate in suburban community theater in shows such as '' Oliver!'', Damiano continued to perform professionally, in small professional roles in New York City. Off-Broadway, she appeared in ''Inner Voices: Solo Voices'' at the now-defunct Zipper Factory.

2006–2011: Broadway debut and leading roles

On December 10, 2006, at the age of 15, she joined the original cast of the musical '' Spring Awakening'' on Broadway as an ensemble member and understudy for the roles of Anna, Martha, Ilse and Thea. She was the youngest performer in the cast. Damiano was originally hired also to understudy Lea Michele in the leading role of Wendla, but she was not legally able to cover the role because she was under 16 and the role requires brief nudity.

She remained in the cast until December 2007, when she began rehearsals for the role of Natalie, the angsty teenage daughter of a woman with manic-depression in the musical ''Next to Normal''. She was cast in the role of Natalie for the show's Off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theater. The show later moved to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. for an out of town tryout and eventually to Broadway at the Booth Theatre. She was nominated for a 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her performance, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award. She left the production on July 18, 2010 (along with co-stars Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James). She was replaced by original Natalie standby Meghann Fahy.

Damiano appeared on ''Gossip Girl'' in the 2008 episode entitled "It's a Wonderful Lie."

Following ''Next to Normal'', Damiano originated the role of Mary Jane Watson in the musical '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' on Broadway. The show, which began previews on November 28, 2010, and, after a record-setting number of previews, opened officially on June 14, 2011, was originally directed by Julie Taymor and later by Philip William McKinley of ''The Boy from Oz''. After almost a year with the show, Damiano played her final performance on November 6, 2011, and was succeeded by Rebecca Faulkenberry of Broadway's '' Rock of Ages'', from Nov. 10. Following her departure from ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', Damiano took part in a variety of readings, workshops, and concert works.

2012–present: Film, return to Broadway, and Off-Broadway theater

In 2013, she starred in the acclaimed indie film ''B-Side'', her first movie. Also that year, Damiano joined the Off-Broadway dystopian musical ''Venice'' at the Public Theater for a limited run. The cast included Haaz Sleiman, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Uzo Aduba.

On November 9, 2015, it was announced that Damiano would return to Broadway (for the first time in four years) and reunite with ''Spring Awakening'' composer Duncan Sheik and ''Next to Normal'' co-star Alice Ripley in the musical adaptation of '' American Psycho'' in the role of Jean (as portrayed by Chloë Sevigny in the 2000 feature film of the same name). The new musical began previews on March 24, 2016, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway.

In 2017, Damiano starred in Zack Zadek's musical ''Deathless'' at Norma Terris Theater, home of Goodspeed Musicals in Chester, CT. The show was directed by Tina Landau and began performances on June 2, 2017, ending on July 2, 2017. In December 2019, it was announced that Damiano would star alongside Ana Nogueira, Joél Pérez, and Michael Zegen in the world premiere of the screen-to-stage adaptation of ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' by The New Group. In early 2022, she took part in the Off-Broadway adaptation of '' Black No More'', also with The New Group.

Accolades

Damiano was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for her performance in ''Next to Normals out-of-town tryout in D.C. Later, she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical when the show moved to Broadway.

In his review in ''The New York Times'' following the 2009 Broadway opening, Ben Brantley observed, "The notion that personality is fragile, always on the edge of decomposition, is exquisitely reflected in Ms. Damiano’s astringent, poignant Natalie". Peter Marks of ''The Washington Post'' said she "locates a new depth of adolescent disdain and need".

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theater

References

External links

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Jennifer Damiano
at About the Artists

at RandomFarms.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damiano, Jennifer
1991 births
Living people
American stage actresses
Place of birth missing (living people)
Actresses from New York (state)
Singers from New York (state)
People from White Plains, New York
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers