Shoshana Bean

Infobox actor

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imagesize = 150px
name = Shoshana Bean
birthname = Shoshana Elise Bean
birthdate = Birth date and age|1977|9|1|mf=y
birthplace = Olympia, Washington
website = http://www.shoshanabean.com

Shoshana Elise Bean (born September 1, 1977) is an American stage actress and singer known for her roles in Broadway musicals during the 2000s. She is best known for playing Elphaba on Broadway in the musical "Wicked".

Biography

Early life

Bean was born in Olympia, Washington and grew up in Beaverton, Oregon. There she graduated from Beaverton High School. Bean studied voice, dance, and songwriting from an early age. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). While at CCM, Shoshana Bean was roommates with Kristy Cates, who would later play the role of Elphaba in "Wicked" as well. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2008943/bio Shoshana Bean - Biography ] ]

Career

Shortly after moving to New York City, she was cast in the Off-Broadway revival of "Godspell". Bean subsequently performed in the national tour of "Leader of the Pack." She was also an original cast member in the Tony Award-winning production of Broadway's "Hairspray", originating the role of Shelley and understudying the roles of Tracy Turnblad, Velma Von Tussle, and Prudy Pingleton.

Bean's biggest claim to fame came in 2005, when she became the 1st replacement for Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel in the Broadway production of "Wicked." Originally cast as Menzel's standby, Bean officially took over the role of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) on January 11, 2005. She actually began performing the lead role full-time on January 8, after Idina Menzel suffered serious injuries during the second act and had to be rushed to the hospital. After a 45-minute hold-up, Bean stepped in to finish the show and also played Elphaba the next day, in what would have been Menzel's final performance. Menzel made an out-of-cotume surprise appearance during the finale. Bean's successful year-long run in the lead role concluded on January 8, 2006 and she was replaced by Idina Menzel's original understudy, Eden Espinosa.

Bean reprised the role of Elphaba in the national tour of "Wicked" for a brief run in the fall of 2006. She was joined by former co-star Megan Hilty. Bean departed the touring cast on December 31, 2006. Since leaving "Wicked", Bean has recorded background vocals for the film soundtracks to "Hairspray" and "Enchanted" (the latter starred Idina Menzel). Bean and Hilty also began performing a variety show together called "The Meg an' Sho Show." They often perform a "Wicked swap," in which Bean sings a medley of Glinda's songs and Hilty sings Elphaba's.

Recently, Bean has been in Los Angeles working on her debut album, Superhero, which will debut on December 2, 2008. [http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=31470] . The first single, also entitled Superhero, launched October 7, 2008 on iTunes. She has performed throughout Los Angeles and on the Rosie Cruise in support of the album.

References

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2008943/bio

External links

* [http://www.shoshanabean.com www.shoshanabean.com] - official website
* [http://www.myspace.com/shoshanabean2 Official MySpace Page]
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