Alison Fraser

Alison Fraser
Born Natick, Massachusetts
Residence Manhattan, New York
Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Occupation Singer, voice actress, actress
Years active 1980-present
Spouse(s) Rusty Magee (1984-2003; his death)
Children 1
Website http://www.alisonfraser.com

Alison Fraser (born in Natick, Massachusetts) is an American actress, voice actress and singer[1] who has appeared in concert at such venues as Carnegie Hall,[2] The White House, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Tisch Center for the Arts, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Wilma, The Emelin, Joe's Pub, 54 Below and Symphony space.[3]

Career

Fraser is a two time Tony Award nominee for The Secret Garden and Romance/Romance, [4] a Drama Desk Award nominee for both The Secret Garden,[5] and First Daughter Suite and a Carbonell Award winner for Romance/Romance.

She played "Tessie Tura" in the New York City Center and Broadway productions of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone under the direction of the legendary Arthur Laurents.

She was the first ever recipient of Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of "The Blonde" in Marion Adler, Scott Wentworth and Craig Boehmler’s film noir musical, Gunmetal Blues under the direction of Jiri Zizka. She reprised the role of "The Blonde" in Gunmetal Blues opposite Patrick Quinn at the George Street Playhouse.[6] She returned there to play "Diana" in Lend Me a Tenor, directed by David Saint.

She was the original "Trina" (Marvin's ex-wife) in William Finn's March of the Falsettos and In Trousers (Playwrights Horizons). She also did vocal orchestrations for both shows. She played "Miss Drumgoole" in Todd Rundgren's adaptation of Joe Orton's Up Against It (New York Shakespeare Festival), "Uta" in Charles Busch and Rusty Magee's The Green Heart (Manhattan Theatre Club), "Connie"/"Petula"/"Brenda" in Beehive at the Village Gate, and "Marion Ames" in Swingtime Canteen. In 1988, she appeared on Broadway in Romance/Romance, a musical starring herself and Quantum Leap star, Scott Bakula. For her dual-role as Josefine/Monica, Fraser received her first Tony Award Nomination. In 1991, Fraser appeared in The Secret Garden, a musical based on the children's story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. For originating the role of Martha, Fraser earned a second Tony Award Nomination. The Secret Garden also featured Mandy Patinkin, Daisy Eagan, John Cameron Mitchell and Rebecca Luker. Fraser stars in the one-woman show A Tennessee Williams Songbook conceived and directed by David Kaplan with musical direction by Allison Leyton-Brown. The show premiered at The Tennessee Williams Festival in Williams' birthplace of Columbus, Mississippi and went on to great acclaim at the annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. An original cast album titled Tennessee Williams: Words and Music was released on Sh-K-Boom Records in 2013.

Fraser has appeared as the flamboyant but clueless "Babs Caplan" on the award-winning series, Between the Lions on PBS. She has appeared on the TV series High Maintenance, Smash, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Third Watch. Her web series work includes the recurring roles of "Aunt Heidi" in the award winning web-series Jack In A Box, written and produced by Michael Cyril Creighton, and "Veronica Bailey" on Wesley Taylor and Mitchell Jarvis’s "It Could Be Worse." (the latter web series was broadcast on Pivot and was later picked up by Hulu).

Her feature films include Socks and Bonds, Family Games, "Blowtorch", Commentary, Jack and His Friends, Me and Him, Mixing Nia, In the Blood, and The Thing About My Folks. She can also be seen in the Bright Eyes music video for their song, First Day of My Life, directed by her Secret Garden co-star, John Cameron Mitchell. She authored an interview with Anthony Newley which was published in Time Out. Fraser also appeared in video games Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V and Mafia III.

She has made three solo albums, A New York Romance, Men In My Life and Tennessee Williams: Words and Music.

In 2004, Fraser sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park.

In 2009, Arthur Laurents cast Fraser in an original play, Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are which premiered at the George Street Playhouse. The play was directed by Laurents himself and featured Tony-winning actress, Shirley Knight. Also with Knight, Fraser appeared in the 2012 world premiere of Tennessee Williams' final full-length play In Masks Outrageous and Austere.

In 2010, playwright and performer Charles Busch cast Fraser in his new comedy, The Divine Sister, a play satirizes the cinematic portrayal of nuns. Fraser played Sister Walburga. Fraser then originated the role of Arsinoe in David Ives' comedy The School For Lies at Classic Stage Company.

On December 16, 2013, Fraser joined the Fist National Tour of Wicked in the role of Madame Morrible.[7]

In 2015, Fraser appeared in four episodes of the Showtime television series Happyish as both Ma Keebler and Boots.

From October 6 to November 22, 2015, Fraser performed in the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's musical First Daughter Suite at the Public Theater, in the roles of Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford. For her performance, Fraser received nominations for both the Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

Personal life

She graduated Summa Cum Laude in spring 2010 from Fordham University, where she also teaches a musical theatre class.

Ms. Fraser divides her time between Manhattan and Pennsylvania, with her son Nathaniel Fraser "Nat" Magee (born 1990); she is the widow of composer and performer Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee.[8]

Additional theatre credits

References

  1. ↑ Talkin' Broadway
  2. ↑ Theater2 @ NY Times
  3. ↑ Playbill
  4. ↑ Tony Awards.com
  5. ↑ IBDb
  6. ↑ NY Times
  7. ↑ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/184898-Alison-Fraser-and-Gina-Beck-Will-Join-Cast-of-Wicked-National-Tour?tsrc=rnn
  8. ↑ NY Times

External links

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