Jessica Molaskey
Jessica Molaskey (born January 9, 1962, Wolcott, Connecticut) is an American professional actor and singer of torch songs and show tunes.[1] She has appeared in a dozen Broadway shows such as the revival of Sunday in the Park with George, Tommy (as Mrs. Walker), Crazy For You, Chess, Oklahoma! and Cats as well as City of Angels and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She has premiered theater pieces off-Broadway, including the Jason Robert Brown 1995 musical Songs for a New World, A Man of No Importance, and Parade at Lincoln Center, Dream True at the Vineyard Theater,Stephen Sondheim's Wise Guys (New York Theater Workshop) The Most Happy Fella as part of the Encores! series at City Center and many world premieres in regional theaters across the U.S. Ms. Molaskey performed the role of Sister Bertha in NBC's live televised version of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood. Since Molaskey's role in NBC's The Sound of Music Live! she is loved among the gay and androgynous community in the UK. They describe her as a beautiful actress, looking light years away from Sister Bertha.
She has performed in concert all over the world from Carnegie Hall to Disney Hall and in jazz festivals from Montreal to Monterey. Her songwriting skills can be heard on dozens of recordings, including Cradle and All which she wrote with Ricky Ian Gordon for Audra McDonald's Build A Bridge C.D and The Greedy Tadpole, part of a commission for Ms. McDonald of the Seven Deadly Sins for Carnegie Hall . Her recent critically acclaimed concert Portraits of Joni, as part Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, featured her daughter Madeleine Pizzarelli on guitar and vocals.
She is married to jazz singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli, who has appeared on each of her five solo albums. For almost a decade they have taken up residence for months at a time performing at the prestigious Cafe Carlyle in New York City. Stephen Holden's review in the New York Times proclaimed, "At the risk of sounding hyperbolic,I would call them the supreme nightclub act of our time." Other artists who have performed with Molaskey include Dave Frishberg ("Live at the Algonquin" CD), Bucky Pizzarelli, Martin Pizzarelli, Johnny Frigo, and Adam Guettel.[1] She co-hosts a nationally syndicated weekly two-hour radio program called Radio Deluxe with her husband from "the most deluxe living room from high atop Lexington Avenue" (NYC).
Discography
| Released | Album | Notes | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-06-04 | PS Classics | ||
| 2003-05-20 | PS Classics | ||
| 2004-10-05 | PS Classics | ||
| 2007-05-08 | PS Classics | ||
| 2008-09-02 | Arbors Records | ||
| 2012-08-14 | Arbors Records |