Rachel bay jones dear evan hansen
Rachel Bay Jones, who created the role of Heidi Hansen in the Tony-winning Dear Evan Hansen, plays her final performance at the Music Box Theatre August 5.
Jones, who won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, will be succeeded by Lisa Brescia, who previously understudied the role as a temporary vacation cover for the Broadway production. Brescia, who begins August 7, has also been seen in Broadway's Mamma Mia! (starring as Donna Sheridan), Wicked (standing by for the role of Elphaba), and Aida (Amneris in the final company), as well as The Woman in White and The Times They Are A-Changin'.
Jones will have a recurring role in CBS’ new sitcom God Friended Me and will be seen in the Julia Roberts film Ben Is Back, directed by Peter Hedges. She will also play San Francisco’s Feinstein’s at the Nikko October 26–27, premiering her new cabaret show, Something Beautiful, exploring stories of love, motherhood, theatre, and life.
Read: RACHEL BAY JONES SHARES HER 5 MOST MEMORABLE NIGHTS ONSTAGE
Hello, Dolly! alum Taylor Trensch officially took his first bow as Evan Hansen February 6. The actor succeeded Noah Galvin in the role created by Tony winner Ben Platt.
Dear Evan Hansen features a score by the Tony- and Oscar-winning songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dogfight, A Christmas Story), a book by Tony winner Steven Levenson (Masters of Sex), choreography by Danny Mefford (Fun Home), and direction by multiple Tony nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal, If/Then).
The Broadway company also features Mallory Bechtel, Alex Boniello, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park, and Phoenix Best.
Jones has been a special guest performer on Playb
Written by Victoria Myers
Photography by Jacqueline Harriet
June 5, 2017
In the last fifty years, the overworked, “doing the best she can,” single mom has become a staple of a certain type of American narrative. Dear Evan Hansen adds to that canon with the character of Heidi Hansen, Evan’s mother. Played by Rachel Bay Jones, Heidi is a multifaceted woman who the audience can sympathize with and still have their own thoughts and questions about her choices. Rachel, who has been with the show since its early stages, earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her rich and layered portrayal. This isn’t the first time that Rachel has gotten attention for her interpretation of a role. In 2009, she came to the theatre community’s attention for her original take on Catherine in Pippin that left many people wondering, “who is she and where has she been?” And, much like her interpretations, she has had a slightly unconventional path to Broadway. We recently sat down with Rachel to discuss how she shaped her character, what she wishes people would talk about when they talk about the show, developing as an artist, and more.
For Heidi, what do you think has evolved the most since the first read-through?
I think we’ve tried to shape her authentically, and it’s been balancing how much of her dysfunction survived all of the edits—and what her relationship is like with Evan at the start of the show is different now than it was in the beginning. We used to see more of the intimacy that got lost through his relationship with this other family and then was regained in the end. Now we start with them being somewhat estranged and can only guess at how intimate their relationship used to be through a few little lines. That has been the biggest change, but it’s left me with the memory of what their relationship was like, which is kind of beautiful.
What, when you first Rachel Bay Jones is best known for originating the role of 'Heidi Hansen' in the Original Broadway Cast of Dear Evan Hansen, and received a Tony Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Lucille Lortel Award, and Drama League Nomination for her performance. BornNovember 8, 1969 American actress and singer (born 1969 or 1970) Rachel Bay Jones Jones in 2013 Rachel Bay Jones (born 1969 or 1970) is an American actress and singer. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in Dear Evan Hansen. The latter earned her an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and the 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She emerged as one of few artists to have received three of the four major American entertainment awards. Jones's mother is Jewish. Her parents were both Shakespearean actors. She dropped out of high school to perform in a local play, then moved to New York City to pursue acting at 19. Jones's first Broadway role was as an understudy for the lead role of Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis in 1989. In the early 1990s, she was in the touring company of Grand Hotel, as well as other national and international tours, performing Rent in German and Evita in Spanish. She performed in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair as the replacement for Mother, Buddahdalirama, and Member Of The Tribe. She was one of the original cast members starring in the revival of Pippin, playing Catherine, Pippin's lover, during the entire run. Jones portrayed Evan's mother Heidi in the musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in July 2015. She reprised the role in the Off-Broadway production at the Second Stage Theatre in May 2016, and then on Broadway starting in November 2016. At the 71st Tony Awards, she won for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Heidi Hansen.[
She will next be seen on Television in Chuck Lorre's "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" for CBS the Fall of 2024, the SXSW Grand Jury prize-winning "Bob Trevino Likes It," and the independent film, "Rise & Shine." She recently recurred on "Young Sheldon," "The Good Doctor," "The United States of Al," "Panic," "Why Women Kill," "Modern Family" and "God Friended Me."
On Film she can be seen in "Ben Is Back," opposite Julia Roberts and "Critical Thinking," directed by and opposite John Leguizamo.
Additional Broadway credits include Pippin, Hair, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Off-Broadway & Regional/National Tour include Next To Normal (Kennedy Center), Dear Evan Hansen (Drama Desk Nomination) at Second Stage, First Daughter Suite at The Public Theater, Hello Again, A Christmas Story, Pippin, Sylvia, and The King and I.
On Television, Rachel also appeared on NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," "The Family," and the FX series "Louie."
Her debut solo album "Showfolk" can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon.Rachel Bay Jones
Born 8th November 1969 Occupations Years active 1989–present Partner Benim Foster Children 1 Early life
Career