About Betsy Wolfe

Betsy Wolfe has established herself as one of the most versatile and keenly intelligent Broadway performers of her generation. She just finished starring in the Tony-nominated musical Waitress, where she gave a multi-faceted performance as Jenna, a woman struggling in an abusive relationship. Prior to that, she played Cordelia, one of the lovable “lesbians from next door,” in the Broadway revival of Falsettos, directed by James Lapine, which recently aired on PBS. She is perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years—but more on that in a minute.

Originally from California, Wolfe received her BFA in musical theatre from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. At age 20—prior to graduation and before even prior to being able to legally drink or get a British pilot’s license—she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under Maestro Erich Kunzel. After receiving her BFA, Wolfe quickly moved on to star as Rona Lisa Peretti in the San Francisco and Boston companies of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Soon after, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of 110 in the Shade. Wolfe gained attention for her next role in both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Sherie Rene Scott’s Everyday Rapture, where she played one of the two Menonettes.

Her casting in Everyday Rapture would prove prescient as, only a few years later, Wolfe would be Scott’s successor in one of contemporary musical theatre’s most challenging and well-known roles: Cathy in Second Stage Theater’s revival of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years. Critics and audiences alike lauded her complex and idiosyncratic performance in the two-person musical.

Wolfe’s other Broadway credits include Ellen in the 2014 production of Bullets Over Broadway, directed by Susan Stroman, and Rosa Bud in the revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. A few blocks east of Broadway, she appeared as Beth in the City Center Encores! production of Merrily We Roll Along. And on the west coast, she starred in the La Jolla Playhouse world premiere production of Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez’s new musical Up Here and created the role of Mary Ann Singleton in ACT’s world premiere of Tales of the City, a musical based on the Armistead Maupin novels.

In 2013, Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Douglas Carter Beane’s adaptation of Die Fledermaus. She has been a guest artist for over 40 symphony, pops and philharmonic orchestras across the U.S. and internationally, including the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Recently, she has collaborated with The New York Pops and played to sold-out crowds at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center with their Broadway Today and Women of Notes concerts.

She can be heard on the recordings of Falsettos, Bullets over Broadway, The Last Five Years, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, Stage Door Canteen, 35MM, and Merrily We Roll Along. She can also be seen in the film adaptation of The Last Five Years where she plays a stripper, with a snake named Wayne.

About Shoshana Bean

Shoshana Bean’s four independent solo releases have all topped the iTunes charts in the US and UK, with her latest album Spectrum landing at #1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts.

Shoshana has sold out solo concerts around the globe, lent her voice to countless films and television shows, amassed millions of views on YouTube, toured with Postmodern Jukebox, performed alongside David Foster, Ariana Grande, Brian McKnight and sang back up for Michael Jackson for his 30th-anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden. She arranged vocals for Jennifer Lopez’s “American Idol” performance of “I Luh Ya Papi,” and her music has been featured in television shows on NBC, MTV, Oxygen, Bravo and Showtime.

Bean made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hairspray and starred as the very first replacement for Elphaba, the green-skinned witch, in Wicked. Most recently, she appeared as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl and as Cee-Cee Bloom in the new musical adaptation of Beaches, for which she earned a Jeff Award Nomination for best lead actress in a musical.

About Stephanie J. Block

Stephanie has established herself as one of the most relevant and versatile voices in contemporary musical theatre. She most recently received the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and TONY nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her star turn as Trina in Lincoln Center Theatre’s highly acclaimed revival of FALSETTOS. Ms. Block received both the 2013 TONY Award and Drama Desk nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Alice Nutting/Edwin Drood in The Roundabout Theatre’s production of THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. Other Broadway credits include Reno Sweeney in the 2011 TONY Award winning revival of ANYTHING GOES, 9 TO 5:THE MUSICAL playing the role of Judy Bernly for which she earned a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

She created the roles of Grace O’Malley in THE PIRATE QUEEN and Liza Minnelli.  In THE BOY FROM OZ (opposite Hugh Jackman). Ms. Block is best known for her portrayal as Elphaba in the Broadway company of WICKED as well as originating the role in the First National Tour for which she won numerous awards including the prestigious Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Ms. Block has sung with numerous symphony orchestras including the NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra (under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch), Dallas Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Charlotte Symphony and the Cleveland Pops among many others. Her solo concert has been critically acclaimed and continues to sell out throughout the US and in London.

Some of her Off-Broadway and regional theatrical credits include LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical), BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK(Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play), THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG(starring opposite Jason Alexander), CATS (St Louis’ Kevin Kline Award Nominee- Best Actress),FUNNY GIRL, CRAZY FOR YOU (L.A. Ovation Award Nominee), OLIVER (Critics Award-Best Actress), James Joyce’s THE DEAD, TRIUMPH OF LOVE, THE GRASS HARP, SOUTH PACIFIC, WILL ROGERS FOLLIES and the World Premiere of WICKED.

Stephanie’s solo album, THIS PLACE I KNOW has been received with great praise, lauded by critics as “One of the best debut recordings to come out of the Broadway community in quite some time… 6 out of 5 stars”. An array of award-winning songwriters assembled to help interpret their music on Stephanie’s album. Composers such as Stephen Schwartz, Marvin Hamlisch and the legendary Dolly Parton join forces with Ms. Block to create a thrilling musical experience. Stephanie’s voice can be heard on multiple cast recordings, including THE BOY FROM OZ, THE PIRATE QUEEN, WICKED’s 5th Anniversary Album and 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL (Grammy Nomination).

Television credits include: RISE (upcoming: NBC), MADAME SECRETARY (CBS), ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix), HOMELAND (Showtime), IT COULD BE WORSE (HULU).