- Melissa Errico
-
Melissa Errico Born Melissa Errico
March 23, 1970
New York City, New York, United StatesOccupation Actress
Singer
SongwriterSpouse Patrick McEnroe (1998 - present) Website http://www.melissaerrico.com/ Melissa Errico (born March 23, 1970) is an American actress, singer and recording artist.
Contents
Biography
Born in Manhattan, Errico moved to Manhasset on Long Island at an early age. Her parents, a sculptor and a physician/concert pianist, supported her early interest in ballet, and gymnastics, and Melissa competed nationally as a gymnast. Her passion for theater was sparked when she appeared in a Girl Scouts production and was cemented by many summers spent at an arts camp where her playful acrobatic skill immediately won her comedic roles in musicals. This may explain why, later in her career, even Stephen Sondheim encouraged her to do cartwheels in "Sunday In The Park With George" at The Kennedy Center. Melissa's childhood idols were Bernadette Peters, Robert Lindsey, Christine Andreas and the film star Juliette Binoche.
During her freshman year at Yale, Errico was cast as Cosette in the first national touring company of Les Misérables. She interrupted her studies for three semesters but eventually went back to New Haven and received her degree. From there she went to Oxford to study acting in programs dedicated to Shakespeare and Chekhov. She returned to Yale's graduate school but withdrew to make her Broadway debut in a musical adaptation of Anna Karenina at Circle in the Square in 1992.
Additional stage credits include the 1993 revival of My Fair Lady, High Society, Amour, Dracula, the Musical and White Christmas. In 2004, she starred in the lauded hit production of Finian's Rainbow, winning the moniker "the voice of enchantment!"[1] at the Irish Repertory Theater, where she also starred in "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Major Barbara" and "Candida," earning nominations for each. She was selected by Stephen Sondheim to star in "Sunday In The Park With George" at The Kennedy Center, and became a favorite at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles where she starred in "My Fair Lady" (John Lithgow), "Camelot" (Jeremy Irons), and "The Sound of Music" (Marni Nixon/John Schneider).
Errico was a regular on the 1995 television series Central Park West and has also appeared as a guest on Law & Order, Miss Match, Ed as well as "Six Degrees" and others. She has been cast to star in television pilots by Spike Lee, Kelsey Grammar, Jon Favreau, Larry Charles and Ed Burns. Most of her screen work has been in independent films; her mainstream movies include Life or Something Like It with Angelina Jolie and "Frequency" with Dennis Quaid. She co-starred with Lili Taylor in Wally Shawn's hit revival of "Aunt Dan and Lemon".
Errico has a close working relationship with film/jazz/pop composer Michel Legrand, with whom she collaborated on "Legrand Affair," her upcoming CD, produced by Phil Ramone with a release date of October 18th, 2011 on Ghostlight Records. Her debut solo release on EMI, Blue Like That, released in 2003, was produced by Arif Mardin. Errico's second CD is titled Lullabies and Wildflowers and was released on April 29, 2008. As described by the USA Today the work was "inspired by her daughter and her fellow Moms, Errico's pure, clear voice sparkles with soulful and unmannered intimacy."[2] The CD includes "Gentle Child", Errico's first recording of one of her own songs. Lullabies and Wildflowers was produced by Rob Mathes and was released by Velour/Universal Records. Errico has appeared in concert at Joe's Pub, the Kennedy Center, and Avery Fisher Hall, and extensively throughout the country with symphonies. In 2008, she made an acclaimed London concert debut at the Palladium with Angela Lansbury and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the 2009-2010 NY theater season, she made a triumphant return to Broadway since having three daughters and starred in the Rosemary Clooney role in "White Christmas" followed by an acclaimed performance in the title role in George Bernard Shaw's "Candida" for which she was called "commanding" (Time Out), "beguiling and enigmatic" (Associated Press) and "gorgeous...a delight to behold" (NY Times), earning her a Drama Desk nomination and filmed for Lincoln Center. In May 2010, she went on to star in the film "Patrimony" opposite Robert Vaughn, premiering at the Boston Film Festival in 2011. She played Fiona in "Brigadoon" for one-night on Broadway in the June 2010, in an astonishing inspired all-star benefit concert which the NY Times called http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/brigadoon/ followed in June 2011 with an exciting revival of "Camelot" with her friend and mentor Jeremy Irons. In July 2011, Melissa co-starred opposite Alec Baldwin in the Peter Shaffer drama "The Gift of The Gorgon" at Guild Hall in East Hampton.
In the fall of 2011, she filled in for Barbara Cook in a major fundraiser concert, guested on the CBS drama "A Gifted Man," and released her new CD http://www.sh-k-boom.com/melissaerrico_legrandaffair.shtml. Melissa's writing of a published essay called http://www.playbill.com/playblog/2011/08/melissa-erricos-musings-about-her-upcoming-cd-legrand-affair/ explains the scope of the project, the countries travelled and her memories of the six years making the recording. She also appeared in a workshop of Regina Spektor's musical "Beauty" written and directed by Tina Landau.
Personal life
Errico's brother Mike is a singer-songwriter. She married her childhood sweetheart, tennis pro Patrick McEnroe, on December 19, 1998 and became the sister-in-law of John McEnroe. Errico and McEnroe have three daughters: Victoria Penny, born 2006 and twins Juliette and Diana, born in 2008.[3]
She is the founder of [[Bowery Babes]],[4] a mothers support group with a membership of over 1000 families, focusing on improving life in downtown Manhattan and lending support to charities such as "Cookies For Cancer" and Bette Midler's NY Restoration Project, as well as offering educational programs, parties, depression counseling and playgroups for new parents. The enterprise began as a yoga class, and became "wildly popular".[5] It was founded in 2005, became a NY non-profit in 2009 and then in 2010, Melissa launched a new website at www.bowerybabes.com with subgroups supporting Special Needs parenting, as well as single moms, adoption, community service and much more. In 2011, she began applying for significant grant monies for parks improvements and is currently working with Bowery Babes staff members and City Council for the renovation of DeSalvio Playground.
Theater nominations
- 2010 Drama Desk Award - Best Actress in a Play ("Candida") -- Nomination
- 2004 Drama League Honoree ("Finian's Rainbow") -- WIN
- 2004 Drama Desk Award - Best Actress in a Musical ("Finian's Rainbow") -- Nomination
- 2003 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Amour) -- Nomination
- 2003 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical ("Amour") -- Nomination
- 2003 New York Drama League Honoree -- WIN
- 2002 Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress ("Sunday in the Park With George") -- Nomination
- 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (High Society) -- Nomination
- 1998 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical ("High Society") -- Nomination
- 1998 New York Drama League Honoree ("High Society" / "Major Barbara") -- WIN
- 1997 Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical ("High Society") -- WIN
- 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (The Importance of Being Earnest) -- Nomination
- 1996 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical ("One Touch of Venus") -- WIN
- 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (My Fair Lady) -- Nomination
- 1993 Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical ("My Fair Lady") -- Nomination
References
- ^ NY Times
- ^ USA Today
- ^ Patrick McEnroe and Melissa Errico Have Twins! Celebrity Baby Blog, February 1, 2009
- ^ http://www.bowerybabes.com
- ^ My Fair Mommy, New York Observer.
http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_Melissa_Errico_Attends_PATRIMONY_Premiere_20110418
External links
Categories:- 1970 births
- Actors from New York
- American actors
- American singers
- Buckley Country Day School alumni
- Living people
- Actors from New York City
- People from Long Island
- People from Manhattan
- Yale University alumni
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