Terry Finn

Teresa JoAnn Bernadette 'Terry' Finn is an American actress. Best known for creating the role of Gussie Carnegie in the original Broadway cast of the Stephen Sondheim / Hal Prince musical comedy Merrily We Roll Along and it's Original Cast Album.

Early life

Terry Finn was born in Long Island City, New York, the 5th child of Katherine (nee Conley) an elementary school teacher and Peter David Finn, a New York City fireman stationed in Brooklyn. Growing up on the Island, Finn attended St. Pius X Elementary School in Plainview. She made her stage debut at the age of 11 as a member of the Pius Players in the leading role of Flora in "The Innocents". She attended High School at Queen of the Rosary Academy in Amityville where she studied to go on to a teaching career. She began undergrad studies at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York as a Psychology major. Following an impromptu audition for Professor Roderick Nash she was persuaded to switch her major to Communication Arts in the Theatre Department. As a member of the Iona Players Finn appeared in a series of leading roles from Blanche Du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" to Sally Bowles in "Cabaret". Following her graduation, she was once again persuaded to return to Iona during post grad Summer session. Cast in the lead as Maria in "West Side Story" this was her third Stephen Sondheim musical which included roles as Marta in Company and Young Dolly in Follies. Before long, with all those Sondheim scores running through her head, she would find herself creating the character of Gussie Carnegie in a leading role, starring on Broadway in the eternally popular Stephen Sondheim / Hal Prince musical comedy Merrily We Roll Along.

Stage career

During a performance of her post grad run in "West Side Story", former Hollywood leading man turned producer Frank Latimore happened into the theater in search of budding talent. Impressed with her poignant portrayal of Maria, he approached Finn and persuaded her to make her way to the City to take a run at the New York stage. Finn signed with agent Lionel Larner and between auditions for the stage appeared in the soap operas All My Children, Guiding Light, The Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live and as Tiffany Cazier in As the World Turns. Finn made her Broadway debut at the Morosco Theatre in Hugh Leonard's "A Life" as understudy to Dana Delany. Following "A Life" she was cast in the leading role as Gussie Carnegie in "Merrily We Roll Along", concluding an exhaustive search by casting director Joanna Merlin. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth and direction by Hal Prince, this stage production is considered a musical theatre legend in spite of the fact that it closed after 52 previews and 16 performances. Joining Finn in the original cast company, many of them making their Broadway debuts, were Lonny Price, Ann Morrison, Jim Walton, Jason Alexander, Giancarlo Esposito, Liz Callaway and Tonya Pinkins. Following the brief run at the Alvin Theatre, the cast gathered at RCA Records Studio 'A' the day after the show closed. The original cast album recorded on November 29, 1981 has become a Broadway musical classic. Its popularity led to the "Merrily We Roll Along Original Broadway Cast Reunion Concert" held at the La Guardia Concert Hall in Lincoln Center on September 30, 2002. Finn was joined by her original cast mates in the one-night-only event that raised $250,000 for the benefit of the Musical Theatre Works. Off-Broadway, Finn has appeared as Pearl Gordon in Clifford Odets Paradise Lost along with Geraldine Page and Steven Weber at The Mirror Repertory Company under the direction of John Strasberg, as Kate Poplin in Big Maggie opposite David Huddleston at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre, as Audrey in William Shakespeare's As You Like It with the New York Acting Unit and in regional theatre starred as Constanze Weber-Mozart in Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus at The Wells Theatre at The Virginia Stage Company.

Television career

In addition to her work in daytime soap opera's, Finn has appeared in Movies of the Week starring as Margie Moran in "Seeds of Tragedy" for Fox Television Network & "Shadow of Obsession" and "The Disappearance of Nora" for CBS Television. She also guest starred as Kitty Conley in an episode of "Trial By Jury" starring Raymond Burr.

Film career

In her film debut, Finn appeared in Orion Pictures Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey directed by Peter Hewitt. Her first on-screen appearance was as the Heavenly Hostess with Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and William Sadler. This led to her next role as the Hatcheck Girl in the Hollywood Pictures / Nintendo production of Super Mario Bros. It was on this Disney release that Finn met fellow cast member Bob Hoskins, who took note of her performance in their scenes together with John Leguizamo. Impressed by her talent and enthusiasm in a relatively small role, Hoskins invited Finn to co-star in a film project he was planning to star in and direct. Less than a year later Finn received a call from London notifying her that she had been cast in the leading role of Jackie Bailey in the fantasy film Rainbow (1996 film). Hoskins would direct and star as Frank Bailey, Jackie's father-in-law. Joining them in the cast would be Dan Aykroyd and Saul Rubinek. In between Super Mario Bros. and Rainbow, Finn appeared in Hollywood Pictures Terminal Velocity. She performed opposite Charlie Sheen as the Birthday Mom. In 2003, Finn appeared once again with Bob Hoskins in Den of Lions. Filmed in Budapest, the picture also starred Stephen Dorff, David O'Hara, Ian Hart and Brenda Fraser. Finn will next be seen in the feature film "Days of Wrath" as Emily Conley opposite Amber Valletta, Ana Claudia Talancon and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Personal life

Terry Finn married motion picture production designer David L. Snyder on August 1, 1990 in a modest ceremony on Central Park West in New York City. They have a son Finn Henry Snyder who was born in Beverly Hills, California on October 2, 1997. In 2005, they renewed their vows in the former offices of George Harrisons Handmade Films in Los Angeles, California, where they first met in January 1989. Finn Henry served handsomely as best man.

Memberships

* Member of Actors Equity Association
* Member of the Screen Actors Guild
* Member of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists

External links

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* [http://www.theatredb.com Internet Theatre Data Base]

References

* SONDHEIM & CO. by Craig Zadan © Harper & Row, 1974 & 1986 (Second Edition) ISBN 0-06-015649-X
* SONDHEIM by Martin Gottfried © Henry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993 ISBN 9-8109-3488-8
* BACKSTAGE - BROADWAY BEHIND THE CURTAIN by Rivka Shifman Katvan © Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001 ISBN 0-0-8109-5709-4
* THE HAPPIEST CORPSE I'VE EVER SEEN - THE LAST 25 YEARS OF THE BROADWAY MUSICAL by Ethan Mordden © Palgrave Macmillan, 2002 ISBN 0-312-23954-8