Lora Lee Gayer (born Lorraine Lee Gayer; April 27, 1988) is an American stage actress. 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 originated the lead role of Linda Mason in ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

'' in 2016. She appeared on Broadway in the 2011 revival of ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a 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 the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

'' as Young Sally.

Early life and education

Gayer was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to Thomas and Cynthia (née Dray) Gayer and was raised in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

. She has one younger brother, Thomas Gayer the Fourth. Her parents were jointly involved in the fashion industry. As a young child, she was initially interested in more visual arts, though she later transferred to performance. She sang with the Naples Philharmonic Youth Chorale at age 11, and began attending the Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan) summer program at the age of thirteen. Three years later, she began her full-time education with Interlochen's prep school.Chau, Joanna
"Lora Lee Gayer of Naples stars opposite Bernadette Peters in DC revival of 'Follies'"
''Naples Daily News'', June 9, 2011, retrieved January 4, 2017 Gayer attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, graduating with a major in musical theater. Immediately after college, Gayer moved back to New York and began looking for performing work.

Career

In 2006, Gayer attended the YoungArts program in Miami, where she was among the students featured in the documentary short '' Rehearsing a Dream''. Gayer made her

debut in the revival of ''

'' as Young Sally. She had played the role at the premiere of the production at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. The production ran on Broadway from September 12, 2011 to January 22, 2012. She performed in the production at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, in May to June 2012. In 2013, she made her film debut playing Lily in '' Towheads'', which was released on March 27 of that year. She performed as Philia in

Shakespeare Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the Shakespeare canon, but its seasons include works by other classic playwrights such as Euripides, ...

's (Washington, DC) production of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', which ran from November 21, 2013 to January 5, 2014. For the performance, she was nominated for the

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical."Helen Hayes Awards, 2014"
theatrewashington.org, retrieved January 4, 2017 She returned to Broadway in March 2015 (previews), where she originated the role of Tonia Gromeko in the musical ''

Doctor Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago Yuri Andreievich Zhivago is the ...

''. The musical closed on May 10, 2015, running for only 26 previews and 23 official performances. That same year, Gayer performed as part of Cdza in a segment on ''CollegeHumor's Comedy Music Hall of Fame''. She appeared in the original Broadway cast of the Roundabout Theatre production of ''

'', playing the principal role of Linda Mason. The musical is based on the musical film of the same name, with music written by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

. The musical opened on October 6, 2016 and ran to January 15, 2017. In January 2019, Gayer performed "The Interview" as part of "The Pussy Grabber Plays" at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater in New York City. The song was co-written by Natasha Stoynoff, one of the women who accused

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

of sexual misconduct before the 2016 election.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Internet Broadway database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayer, Lora Lee Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Actresses from New York City Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni American musical theatre actresses American film actresses 21st-century American actresses 1988 births Living people