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Beth LeavelAmerican theater and film actress and singer
Date of Birth: 01.11.1955
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Broadway Debut and Acclaimed Performances
- Continued Success and Award Nominations
- Diverse Roles and Continued Recognition
- Recent Work and Tony Nominations
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Lauren Livingston, an American actress and singer, was educated at Needham B. Broughton High School and Meredith College, where she earned a degree in social work. In 1980, she obtained her Master's degree in Theatre Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Broadway Debut and Acclaimed Performances
Lively made her Broadway debut in 1980 in "42nd Street" as an understudy to Annie. She joined the original Broadway cast of "Crazy for You" (1992) as Tess and understudied Polly Baker. In 1999, she played the roles of Mabel and Mrs. Bixby in "The Civil War." Lively returned to the Broadway revival of "42nd Street" in 2001 as a standby for Maggie Jones and Dorothy Brock, eventually playing the latter.
Her portrayal of Beatrice Stockwell in "The Drowsy Chaperone," for which she helped create the character's backstory and described as "a compendium of a lot of different women in theater," earned her the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Continued Success and Award Nominations
Lively replaced Andrea Martin as Frau Blücher in the Broadway production of "Young Frankenstein" on July 15, 2008, and remained with the show until its closing on January 4, 2009. She starred in the world premiere of the opulent burlesque musical "Minsky's" in Los Angeles, which ran at the Ahmanson Theatre's Center Theatre from January 21 to March 1, 2009; the musical also featured her former "Young Frankenstein" co-stars Christopher Fitzgerald and Sarah Stiles.
In 2009, Lively appeared in a staged reading of Dylan Glatthorn's "Republic" with Lauren Worsham and Kelly Barrett. She also starred in Vincent Crapanzano's "Other" with Karen Ziemba and Laura Benanti-Coffey. She played Donna Sheridan in the Broadway production of "Mamma Mia!," replacing Carolee Carmello in the role on September 22, 2009, and departing the show on October 10, 2010.
Lively portrayed Emily Hobbs in the Broadway musical "Elf," which opened on November 14, 2010, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and ran until January 2, 2011. Following "Elf," she appeared in the Broadway production of "Baby It's You!," which began previews on March 26, 2011, and closed on September 4, 2011. Lively received a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Florence Greenberg in "Baby It's You!"
Diverse Roles and Continued Recognition
In November 2013, she appeared at the Minetta Lane Theatre on Broadway in the play "Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays." From January to February 2012, she starred in a limited run of "Boeing-Boeing" at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.
Lively played Bea in the musical "Something Rotten!," having originated the role in a workshop/reading held in 2014. Prior to the musical's Broadway premiere in March 2015, she was replaced by Heidi Blickenstaff because "the creators decided the character had to be younger so she could become pregnant, a key plot point." Also in 2014, Lively starred in the world premiere of the musical "Dog and Pony" at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
Recent Work and Tony Nominations
She starred in the musical "Prom," which opened on Broadway in November 2018. For this, she received a 2019 Tony nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
In 2022, she played Miranda Priestly in the Chicago world premiere of "The Devil Wears Prada."
