alice ripley
BIO
Alice Ripley is a Tony Award winner, best known for originating the role of Diana in Next to Normal on Broadway. She was also Tony nominated for her role as Violet in Side Show. Ripley attended DePauw University, where she majored in Vocal Performance, before transferring to Kent State University where she received a BFA in Musical Theatre in 1985. While at University, Ripley performed in a number of stage productions, while her first paid acting job was at the Red Barn Summer Theatre in Frankfort, Indiana. Following college, she was active in community theatre in San Diego, California, and subsequently received her Actor's Equity card at the La Jolla Playhouse through a production of Silent Edward, a musical written by Des McAnuff, who was Artistic Director of the La Jolla Playhouse at the time and who would later direct Ripley in her Broadway debut in The Who's Tommy. In her 1993 debut, Ripley played a Local Lass and the Specialist's Assistant in the original cast of The Who's Tommy; she also understudied the role of Mrs. Walker. Broadway roles that followed were Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard (1994), Bathsheba in King David (1997), Violet Hilton in Side Show (1997), Fantine in Les Misérables (1998), Molly Ivors in James Joyce's The Dead (2000), Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show (2000), one of The Sweethearts in Dreamgirls, the concert (2001), and Diana Goodman in Next to Normal (2009). With the exception of Les Misérables, Ripley was part of the original casts.
Ripley's 2008 performance in Next to Normal (Second Stage Theatre) earned her Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations. Additional Off-Broadway roles include Nelly Bly in Cather County (1993, Playwrights Horizons), Daisy Mae in Li'l Abner (1998, New York City Center), various characters in The Vagina Monologues (2002, Westside Theatre), Olivia in Five Flights (2004, Rattlestick Theater), Marsha in Wild Animals You Should Know[16] (2011, MCC/Lucille Lortel Theater), Mary Todd Lincoln, Lewis Payne, and other roles in A Civil War Christmas (2012, NYTW), and Sook Faulk in A Christmas Memory. Ripley's regional credits include Clybourne Park at the Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, as Bev/Kathy in May 2013; Next to Normal at Arena Stage (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress in a Musical, non-resident production), Little Shop of Horrors, Tell Me On A Sunday (Helen Hayes nomination), Company (Helen Hayes nomination), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Show Boat, Shakespeare in Hollywood (Helen Hayes nomination), The Baker's Wife, Sweeney Todd, Carousel and Carrie. On tour, Ripley played Fantine in Les Misérables (1993–94). She reprised her role as Diana in Next to Normal, the U.S. Tour.
Ripley's films are The Adulterer (2000), Temptation (2004), Isn't It Delicious (2013), Sing Along (2013),The Way I Remember It (2015), Bear With Us (2016), SUGAR! (2016), and Muckland (in post-production). Ripley recently wrapped shooting on an episode of GIRLBOSS, a new Netflix half-hour comedy which premiered in April 2017. She previously guest-starred on Blue Bloods and Royal Pains, and played herself in the series finale of the TV comedy, 30 Rock. Alice has released albums with her band, RIPLEY, including the single, "Beautiful Eyes", released in February 2012. She also performs as a solo artist, and in February 2011 she released Alice Ripley Daily Practice, Volume 1, a stripped-down collection of acoustic rock covers.
