- Mandy Gonzalez
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Mandy Gonzalez
July 27, 2007Born Mandy Vera Gonzalez
c. 1978/1979 (age 32–33)[1]
Santa Clarita Valley, CaliforniaOccupation Actress, singer Years active 2001-present Website mandygonzalez.com Mandy Gonzalez (born c. 1978/1979[1]) is an American actress and singer, who most recently finished a 10-month run as Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked.
Contents
Early life and education
Gonzalez was born and raised in California's Santa Clarita Valley.[2] She is the daughter of a Mexican father and her mother is of Polish and Romanian heritage.[3] Gonzalez attended Saugus High School in Saugus, California.[1] She attended the California Institute of the Arts for one year. Gonzalez then worked as a background singer for Bette Midler's Millennium Tour (1999–2000). After that she she moved to New York City, where she worked as a coat check attendant while attending open calls.[2]
Acting career
Prior to her appearances on Broadway, Gonzalez appeared in the off-Broadway production of Eli's Comin, a musical which was based on the lyrics and music of songwriter Laura Nyro that ran Off-Broadway in 2001.[4] Gonzalez won an Obie Award for her performance.[5]
In 2001, Gonzalez made her debut on Broadway in the role of Princess Amneris in the Tim Rice/Elton John musical Aida as the standby for Idina Menzel. In 2002, she played the role of Sarah in the short-lived Broadway musical Dance of the Vampires.[2] She returned to Aida in 2003, playing the lead role, opposite Deborah Cox and Will Chase.[6]
In 2005, she appeared in the Broadway musical Lennon, based on the life of John Lennon and Yoko Ono,[7] She played multiple roles, including Lennon himself. The show played a limited 91 performances on Broadway.
Gonzalez then starred as Nina Rosario in the original Broadway cast of In The Heights. Gonzalez created the role of Nina in the show's Off-Broadway production and received a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal.[8][9]
Gonzalez had previously been offered the role of Elphaba on the first national tour of Wicked, which she would have taken over from Carmen Cusack in November 2008; instead, she declined in order to star in In the Heights, with the role of Elphaba going instead to Donna Vivino.[10] In 2010, the opportunity finally arose for her to play Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked.[11] She replaced Dee Roscioli on March 23, 2010. Not long into her run as the green witch, she won the 2010 Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Female Replacement. On January 30, 2011, she played her final performance, after which she was replaced by Teal Wicks. Gonzalez also had previously appeared in the ensemble in one of the musical's first readings.
Film and T.V.
On screen, Gonzalez can be seen in Across the Universe (directed by Julie Taymor), In God's Hands, The Good Wife, Third Watch, Guiding Light, and recently finished filming Pieter Gaspersz' After.[citation needed]
She can be heard on the Original Broadway cast Recording of In the Heights, and in the Disney animated film Mulan 2, as the singing voice of Mei.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ a b c Irwin, Kim (February 6, 1995). "Saugus Teen Dreams of Seeing Name in Lights". Los Angeles Daily News. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-24991655.html.
- ^ a b c Gans, Andrew (September 12, 2008). "DIVA TALK: Chatting with In the Heights' Mandy Gonzalez Plus News of Fraser, Testa and Bundy". Playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/121278-DIVA-TALK-Chatting-with-In-the-Heights-Mandy-Gonzalez-Plus-News-of-Fraser-Testa-and-Bundy.
- ^ Latina Magazine (2003), Volume 8, Issues 1-4 Courtesy of Latina.com
- ^ Dominguez, Robert (May 12, 2001). "LAURA'S LEGACY 'ELI'S COMING' SHOWCASES NYRO HITS". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2001/05/12/2001-05-12_laura_s_legacy__eli_s_coming.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
- ^ Obie Award Database
- ^ Diamond, Robert (August 12, 2003). "Interview with Mandy Gonzalez". BroadwayWorld.com. http://broadwayworld.com/article/Interview_with_Mandy_Gonzalez_20030812. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
- ^ Diamond, Robert (August 11, 2005). "Lennon Roundtable: Interview with Will Chase, Julie Danao, Mandy Gonzalez and Terrence Mann". BroadwayWorld.com. http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Lennon_Roundtable_Interview_with_Will_Chase_Julie_Danao_Mandy_Gonzalez_and_Terrence_Mann_20050811. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
- ^ "Press Release: The Coast of Utopia". Drama Desk. May 20, 2007. http://www.dramadesk.com/press052.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
- ^ Junco, Maite (May 29, 2009). "VIVA: Hitting the 'Heights' on PBS". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2009/05/27/2009-05-27_hitting_the_heights_on_pbs_.html. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (January 14, 2011). "DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Wicked Star Mandy Gonzalez". Playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/146701.html.
- ^ "Wicked's Mandy Gonzalez on Relocating from The Heights to Oz". Broadway.com. April 5, 2010. http://www.broadway.com/shows/wicked/buzz/149669/wickeds-mandy-gonzalez-on-relocating-from-the-heights-to-oz/. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
References
- Mandy Gonzalez Will Fly Into Wicked in March
- Mandy Gonzalez Joins WICKED on Broadway as Elphaba Mar. 23!
- Articles from the Daily News
- Wicked's Mandy Gonzalez Is 'That Girl' With Broadway.com Audience Award Win
External links
Categories:- American stage actors
- Living people
- Drama Desk Award winners
- American people of Mexican descent
- American people of Polish descent
- American people of Romanian descent
- Year of birth uncertain
- American theatre actor stubs
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