Beth Malone
Malone about to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Mile High Stadium, October 2016.
Born
Elizabeth Ann Malone

(1969-01-02) January 2, 1969 (age 55)
Auburn, Nebraska, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
SpouseRochelle Schoppert

Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Malone (born January 2, 1969)[1] is an American actress and singer known for her work in Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatre. She originated the role of Alison Bechdel in the musical Fun Home, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.[2]

Personal life and education

She was born in Auburn, Nebraska, and raised in Castle Rock, Colorado, the daughter of Peggy and Bill Malone. Her mother is a professional country music singer.[3] Malone played the title role in Annie in middle school, and participated in theatre at Douglas County High School.[4] Malone first attended Loretto Heights College for musical theatre. When the school closed in 1989 while she was there, she decided not to continue, because she was successful finding work without a degree. She later completed her degree through the University of Northern Colorado[4] in 1996 and earned an MFA in Acting from UC Irvine in 2000.[5]

She began her career working at the Country Dinner Playhouse at the age of 16. Malone moved to New York City at age 21. After a period of not finding work, she returned to Aspen, Colorado, where she was able to play a wide variety of roles. She received her Equity card performing in a production of Baby.[4] She later moved to Sherman Oaks, California, where she began performing in television commercials and performing in many shows in the greater Los Angeles area. Malone is married to Rochelle Schoppert, a music technician.[6][7][8][9]

Career

Malone made her Broadway debut in Ring of Fire in 2006. She appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Bingo: A Winning New Musical at St. Luke's Theatre in 2005.[10] She appeared Off-Broadway in The Marvelous Wonderettes at the Westside Theatre as Betty Jean in 2008.[11] She played the title role in Annie Get Your Gun in the Music Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion in Sacramento, California in August 2011,[12] and again at the San Diego Musical Theatre in May 2014.[13]

She played the title role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown at The Denver Center Theatre Company in September and October 2014.[14] She played the role of "Molly Brown" in The Muny (St. Louis, Missouri) production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown in July 2017. The musical was directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall.[15] Gossip columnist Michael Riedel speculated that The Unsinkable Molly Brown would be revived on Broadway, with Malone in the lead.[16] She played the lead in an industry reading in November 2017 at the Roundabout Theatre Company. "A representative for Roundabout Theatre Company told Playbill there are currently no plans for a future production of the musical."[17]

Malone has created a one-woman cabaret show titled Beth Malone: So Far. The show tells her life story, "from her offbeat childhood in small-town Colorado, to her not-quite-normal entrance into acting, to her left-of-center adult life." She has toured with the show in several locations, including Aspen, Colorado, at the Wheeler Opera House in 2011,[7] and in New York City in 2012 at the Davenport Theatre.[18]

Malone originated the role of (Big) Alison in the musical Fun Home, from workshops, to the 2013 Off-Broadway production at the Public Theater.[19] She continued the role in the 2015 Broadway production at the Circle in the Square Theatre, which concluded its Broadway engagement on September 10, 2016.[2] Critic Steven Suskin called her performance "the glue that holds the show together."[20] She received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.[2] Although Beth has found success on stage and on the screen, her role in Fun Home was one of the first times she was able to portray a character who identified as homosexual.

Malone played the Angel at certain performances in the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner's play Angels in America at the Neil Simon Theatre. Transferring from London's National Theatre, the production was directed by Marianne Elliott and stars Andrew Garfield as Prior Walter and Nathan Lane as Roy Cohn. The limited engagement began previews on February 23, opened on March 25, and closed on July 15, 2018.[21][22]

Activism

Malone believes supporting the LGBTQ community is very important, and she continually shows her support by performing at over 50 benefits a year for LGBTQ groups and nonprofits.[23] In addition to showing her pride for the queer community, she is also involved in organizations foundations that advocate for all women and their equality, like the Aqua Foundation.[24] Malone uses the success of Fun Home to propel her advocacy because the show "helped [her] define [her] own beliefs and commit to them publicly." Malone states how she has recently become aware of how “living [her] life openly can be a beacon for other people."[25] When she was performing in Fun Home, she took the time to converse with young girls and boys who struggled with embracing this identity.[23] Malone's advocacy greatly evolved as a result of this Broadway production. Not only was Fun Home an award-winning musical, it was reportedly also a "social outreach program".[24]

Beth Malone: So Far...

In 2011, Beth Malone started to perform her one-woman show, titled Beth Malone: So Far. Malone describes this production as an "autobiographical tale about what it was like for [her] to be a rural lesbian in the '70s."[23] This one-hour production takes the audience on a journey through her teenage years and young adulthood.[23] Malone pegs herself as "part dude, part lady… all lesbian."[26] This musical cabaret depicts Malone's life, yet she is careful to make sure that her performance avoids the coming-out cliche. Instead, So Far is a coming-of-age story,[7] which highlights her relationship with her father and how their relationship changed when she came out.[25] Although there are several emotional and "heart-wrenching" moments in the show, Malone's presentation is inherently comedic, and she incorporates humor throughout her concert.[7] Malone has continued to develop and craft So Far over the years, and she still performs her cabaret throughout the country.

Theatre credits

Start year Production Role Notes
2002[27] You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Sally Brown Colony Theatre
2003 Babes in Arms Unknown Reprise!
2004 Grand Hotel Flaemmchen, the typist Dir. Peter Schneider
2005 A New Brain Unknown Reprise!
Bingo: A Winning New Musical Alison Off-Broadway
2006 Ring of Fire Performer Broadway; March 12 – April 30, 2006
Sister Act Sister Mary Robert Pasadena Playhouse
2007 Alliance Theatre
2008 The Marvelous Wonderettes Betty Jean Off-Broadway
2010 Music Theatre West
2011 Annie Get Your Gun Annie Oakley Wells Fargo Pavilion
Beth Malone: So Far Self National Tour; 2011/12
2013 9 to 5 Judy Bernly 3-D Theatricals
Fun Home Alison Bechdel Off-Broadway; Sept. 20, 2013 – Jan. 12, 2014
2014 Annie Get Your Gun Annie Oakley San Diego Musical Theatre; May 2014
The Unsinkable Molly Brown Molly Brown Denver Center Theatre Company; Sep/Oct 2014
2015 Fun Home Alison Bechdel Broadway; April 19, 2015 – September 10, 2016[28]
2018 Angels in America The Angel Broadway; March 25 – July 1, 2018
2020 The Unsinkable Molly Brown Molly Brown Off-Broadway

Filmography

Film
Start year Production Role Notes
2006 Room 101 Actor Short
2009 Intelligent Life: Change Your Mind, Change Your World Narrator Documentary
2011 Hick Sherri
2016 The Comedian Carol Bock
2017 Between the Shades Herself[29] Documentary
2019 Brittany Runs a Marathon Tesla
2021 The God Committee Attorney
2021 Tick, Tick... Boom! "Sunday" Legend
Television
Start year Production Role Notes
2003 One Minute Soap Opera Various Series Regular
Unknown What's On Host TV Guide Channel
2004 Judging Amy Marge Bolton/Kelly McClaren 2 episodes
2005 Reno 911! Ms. Striker Episode: "The Prefect of Wanganui"
2015 Late Night with Seth Meyers Self/Alison Bechdel Episode: "Ed Helms/Alison Bechdel/Fun Home/Brad Wilk"
The Good Wife Pro-Life Activist Episode: "Restraint"
2016 BrainDead Claudia Monarch 8 episodes
2017 Bull Tessa Snyder Episode: "The Devil, The Detail"
2019 Bluff City Law Samantha Episode: "The All-American"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Doctor Episode: "We Dream of Machine Elves"
2020 The Baker and the Beauty Melanie Caan 2 episodes
2021 All Rise Sylvia Arthur Episode: "Caught Up in Circles"

Musical albums

Malone released her first solo album in 2008, and it is available on iTunes and Spotify.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated Work Result
2002 Ovation Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Nominated
2013 Ovation Award Best Lead Actress in a Musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Won
2015 Tony Award Best Lead Actress in a Musical Fun Home Nominated
2016 Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Person Details for Beth A Malone". FamilySearch.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Beth Malone (Performer)". Playbill. Playbill Inc. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Special Western Music Guest: Peggy Malone". CowboyPoetry.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Moore, John (May 14, 2014). "Denver's Molly Brown is Denver's Beth Malone". DenverCenter.org. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  5. ^ "Beth Malone Nominated for Best Actress Tony Award in 'Fun Home'". UCI School of the Arts. April 29, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Oksenhorn, Stewart (July 3, 2009). "At the corner of Aspen and Broadway". The Aspen Times. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Oksenhorn, Stewart (January 16, 2011). "Beth Malone: From the inside out". The Aspen Times. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew. "DIVA TALK: Beth Malone On Creating a Fun Home and Becoming an Unsinkable Molly Brown". Playbill. Playbill Inc. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  9. ^ Paulson, Michael (April 8, 2015). "'Fun Home,' the Musical, Takes Alison Bechdel's Life to Broadway". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Dietz, Dan (2010). "Bingo". Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007. McFarland. p. 50. ISBN 978-0786457311.
  11. ^ Gans, Andrew (August 7, 2008). "Alvin, Malone and Matlock Will Be The Marvelous Wonderettes Off-Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  12. ^ Gans, Andrew (August 9, 2011). "Beth Malone, Edward Watts, Heather Lee Star in Music Circus Annie Get Your Gun, Beginning Aug. 9". Playbill. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  13. ^ Purcell, Carey (May 10, 2014). "Annie Get Your Gun, Featuring Beth Malone and Steve Blanchard, Opens May 10 in San Diego". Playbill. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  14. ^ Gans, Andrew (September 19, 2014). "Beth Malone Is The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Opening Tonight". Playbill. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Gans, Andrew (May 3, 2017). "Complete Casting Announced for the Muny's Molly Brown, Starring Beth Malone". Playbill. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017.
  16. ^ Riedel, Michael (November 30, 2017). "'Unsinkable Molly Brown' floats back onto Broadway". New York Post. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  17. ^ McPhee, Ryan (November 28, 2017). "Beth Malone Leads Roundabout Reading of The Unsinkable Molly Brown". Playbill.
  18. ^ Moore, Sarah (March 7, 2012). "Beth Malone…So Far to Play 45th Street Theatre". TheaterMania.
  19. ^ Gioia, Michael (August 8, 2013). "Michael Cerveris, Judy Kuhn, Alexandra Socha Among Cast of Fun Home; Other Public Theater Casting Announced, Too". Playbill. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  20. ^ Suskin, Steven (February 23, 2014). "ON THE RECORD: Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron's Fun Home". Playbill. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  21. ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (2018-01-09). "Beth Malone & More to Join Nathan Lane & Andrew Garfield in Angels in America". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  22. ^ Musbach, Julie (January 9, 2018). "Beth Malone Joins ANGELS IN AMERICA, Full Cast Announced". BroadwayWorld.
  23. ^ a b c d Rothaus, Steve (May 15, 2017). "Out Broadway star Beth Malone to sing for LGBTQ fans during Aqua Girl festival". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Arnold, JW (May 17, 2017). "Singer Reflects on Life On and Off the Stage". South Florida Gay News. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  25. ^ a b Moore, John (April 6, 2017). "The evolving Beth Malone: So Far … So Good". DenverCenter.org. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  26. ^ Eisenbach, Helen (April 27, 2015). "Caught in the Act". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  27. ^ Spindle, Les (September 1, 2002). "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown". Back Stage West – via ColonyTheatre.org.
  28. ^ Viagas, Robert (September 10, 2016). "Tony-Winning Musical Fun Home Closes on Broadway Today". Playbill.
  29. ^ TransFamily of NWPA (July 2018). "TransFamily of NW PA Between the Shades Film Screening Pride Kickoff on June 29". Erie Gay News. Retrieved 2023-07-24.

External links

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