JENNIFER LEIGH WARREN
Is a critically acclaimed actress/singer lauded for her show-stopping Broadway performances as the original Alice's Daughter in Big River (singing "How Blest We Are" written for her by Roger Miller), the original Crystal in the Howard Ashman/Alan Menken hit Little Shop of Horrors, the original Lincoln Center cast of Marie Christine, and the Muse in the original Drama Desk Award nominated Lonesome Traveler.
Some have called her a chameleon in the way she is able to transform into older and younger roles. In the FOX Entertainment television musical event RENT: LIVE, she showcased that acting and singing versatility as Mrs. Jefferson, Mrs. Cohen, Support Sue and the Homeless bag lady known as the “who the F lady.” With the Los Angeles Philharmonic she performed as the Narrator and vocalist in the "Rock My Soul" festival at the Disney Concert Hall. She performed her “Diamonds Are Forever: The songs of Shirley Bassey” concert in Los Angeles at the Renberg Theater. Directed by Richard Jay Alexander.
She is featured on the Grammy award nominated cast albums of both Big River and Little Shop of Horrors and sang on the "Stephen Schwartz Album," in the Stephen Schwartz Concert at the Ford Amphitheatre and The Magic of Motown Concert (with Stevie Wonder & Smokey Robinson),
She starred as “the Blues Singer” in all four National tours of A Night with Janis Joplin (USA, Canada) with independent productions at Houston’s Alley Theater, North Carolina Theatre, LaMirada CA Theatre, and Ivoryton, CT Theatre. A Night with Janis Joplin was filmed for BroadwayHD and is now streaming at BroadwayHD.com.
She was a member of Sir Peter Hall’s Shakespeare Repertory Company at the Ahmanson Theater. She recently performed as "The Conjur Woman" in the first production of Dark of The Moon the musical at the Rubicon Theatre and Sarah in Nina Simone: Four Women at South Coast Rep. For Reprise! she was Lalume in Kismet, Cleo in The Most Happy Fella and stopped the show as Shelia in HAIR, with a vocal arrangement made for her by the great Peter Matz (arranger of Streisand’s “People”). At Tuacahn, she was Medda in Newsies and Dragon in Shrek. She played both roles of Addaperle AND Evilene in The Wiz in the same production at Arkansas Rep (a first ever) and starred as the fairy Godmother in the Lythgoe family’s premiere US production of the British Panto, Cinderella Christmas and proudly portrayed Thelma Mothershed in Little Rock at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA (the story of the Little Rock Nine)
Other regional credits include Gretchen Cryer’s I’m Still Getting My Act Together, her NAACP Theatre award-nominated performance as Julia in Having It All, The Education of Randy Newman at South Coast Rep and The Princess & the Black-Eyed Pea at San Diego Rep. Mrs Fezziwig in the Rubicon Theatre’s new adaptation of A Christmas Carol with Joe Spano, Hattie Winston’s The Slave Narratives at the Broad Theaterand the original title character in both Abyssinia at the Cleveland Playhouse and Chan Poling’s Venus in Minneapolis.
On The Tonight Show, CONAN and Jimmy Kimmel, she performed with Broken Bells, The Kills, Trombone Shorty, Moon Taxi, Lisa Loeb and OK Go. At Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall she performed honoring Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Marcia Gaye Harden. She opened for Steve Tyrell at the Americana at Brand. In Japan, she re-created her Big River role (in Japanese) and sang with Al Jarreau in Denmark (televised LIVE throughout Europe).
Feature films include: Garry Marshall’s Valentine’s Day, The Other Sister, and Dear God, Allison Anders & Martin Scorsese’s Grace of my Heart, Sean Penn’s The Crossing Guard, Larry David’s Sour Grapes. Television includes: Pretty Little Liars, Lipstick jungle, Dirt, ER, Scrubs, The Game, Touched by an Angel, All my Children.
Awards: Ovation Award winner with multiple nominations, Backstage Award, Dartmouth College Creative Arts Award, two BroadwayWorld awards (seven nominations) for her solo concert show, Diamonds Are Forever: Songs of Dame Shirley Bassey directed by Richard Jay-Alexander and for the Cinderella Christmas panto in the same year, a first. Jennifer is a proud AEA, SAG-AFTRA member and graduate of Dartmouth College. www.JenniferLeighWarren.com
Addaperle - The Wiz - Arkansas Rep
Evilene - The WIZ - Arkansas Rep
