Lauren Molina | |
|---|---|
 Molina on Broadway | |
| Born | (1981-04-15)April 15, 1981 (age 44) |
| Education | University of Michigan |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Sweeney Todd Rock of Ages The Skivvies |
Lauren Molina (born April 15, 1981) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a co-creator and performer with the comedy-pop, undie-rock bandThe Skivvies. HerBroadway credits include Johanna in the actor-musicianrevival ofSweeney Todd.[1] To describe her as an actress, one reviewer said "She's part Mary Martin, Lucille Ball, Kristen Wiig and [fill in the blank with your favorite opera star because Molina has one of the most powerful and flexible voices in the annals of Broadway]."[2]While performing on the first national tour of Sweeney Todd, she received the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award for Best Supporting Actress.[3] She won a Helen Hayes award for her portrayal of Cunegunde in Candide (2010-2011),[4] directed by Mary Zimmerman at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC, and received an IRNE nomination for the same role at the Huntington Theatre.[5] She originated the role of Bella Rose in Desperate Measures (2017-2018) Off-Broadway and received nominations for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical[6] and Outer Critics Circle for Best Supporting Actress.[7] In 2019, she and her Skivvies partner Nick Cearley co-conceived a new actor-musician revival of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", also playing Lucy and Linus, at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.[8]ADetroit native, Lauren received her BFA from theUniversity of Michigan in musical theatre. She resides inNew York City.
She made herBroadway debut as Johanna in the 2005revival ofSweeney Todd,[9] Described as a "sweet-voiced soprano who...plays the cello beautifully" byThe New York Times, she received the Independent Reviewers of New England Award Best Supporting Actress, while performing on the first national tour, and was named as one of the "30 Under 30" featured on Broadwayspace.com.
Hilton Als, featured Molina in the "Critic's Notebook" ofThe New Yorker, saying "Most of the kudos for the current revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 musical, “Sweeney Todd,” have gone to Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. But Lauren Molina also deserves her share. Making her Broadway début as Johanna, Sweeney's long-lost daughter, Molina projects such sweet confusion, mental terror, and consistent interiority that she exposes the ways in which seasoned pros like LuPone and Cerveris play to the audience from time to time. Molina is a newcomer—she only recently graduated from college—but she taps into Johanna with an all-consuming honesty and range. Given her unconventional good looks and delicacy of frame, filmmakers in the sixties and seventies like Lumet, Coppola, and others would have snatched Molina up as quickly as they did the late, great Elizabeth Hartman, who conveyed an effect similar to Molina's in “The Group,” “You’re a Big Boy Now,” and “The Beguiled” —that of a highly intelligent actress in love with being someone other than herself."[10]
In 2008, she originated the role of Regina/Candi in the 80's rock musicalRock of Ages off-Broadway at New World Stages. She played the same role onBroadway from April 2009 – August 2010. She won a Helen Hayes Award for the role ofCunegonde inCandide in a 2010–11 production that was newly adapted and directed byMary Zimmerman at the Goodman Theatre,Chicago, the Shakespeare Theatre,Washington D.C., and The Huntington Theatre inBoston.
She was also a part of the Drama League Nominated, two person revival ofStephen Sondheim'sMarry Me A Little with Jason Tam, off-Broadway at the Clurman Theatre with Keen Company. The cast album was recorded by Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom and released November 2013.
In 2017, Lauren originated the role of Bella Rose in the Drama Desk Award-Winning Off-Broadway showDesperate Measures. She received the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and Outer Critics Circle for Best Supporting Actress nominations. Broadway world said, "...Lauren Molina, as Bella, gives one of those uproarious performances that used to make people stay home on Saturday nights to see on "The Carol Burnett Show." She mugs unmercifully, belts out a sassy strip number and, [has an] homage to Groucho and Harpo's classic mirror scene in "Duck Soup."[11]
The show began at theYork Theatre then transferred toNew World Stages. She recorded the original cast album released bySony Masterworks.[12]
She is a co-conceiver of the new actor-musician revisal of “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown” which debuted at the Cincinnati Playhouse in April 2019. She also played the role of Lucy and was described by the Cincinnati Enquirer as "a powerhouse of a performer".[13] Critics raved that “The production at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park may be the best we are likely to ever encounter, thanks to the inventiveness of the presentation and the talented cast.”[14]
She has been seen regionally as Squeaky Fromme inAssassins directed byJames Bundy (Yale Rep), Eileen inWonderful Town directed byMary Zimmerman (Goodman Theatre), Countess inA Little Night Music directed byPeter DuBois (Huntington Theatre Company), Audrey inLittle Shop of Horrors directed byAmanda Dehnert (Cleveland Play House), Janet inThe Rocky Horror Show directed byHunter Foster (Bucks County Playhouse), The World Premiere of Meet Me In Saint Louis: A Radio Play directed by Gordon Greenberg (Bucks County Playhouse) and It's a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play directed by Gordon Greenberg (Bucks County Playhouse).[15]
Other roles she's originated include: Megan in the world premiere musical,NOBODY LOVES YOU, at bothThe Old Globe and off-Broadway at Second Stage in 2013; Miss Jones 1 inTEN CENTS A DANCE, withDonna McKechnie and Malcolm Gets at the Williamstown Theatre Festival (This original musical, created by John Doyle, utilized actor/singer/musicians, Lauren playing cello, bass, guitar, ukulele and saxophone, and expressed the story thru the music of Rodgers and Hart); Liza inTHE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE by Itamar Moses and Michael Friedman.
She was a featured singer at "The Ladies Who Sing Sondheim" concert withBarbara Cook andPatti Lupone at the Westport Playhouse. She also was a soloist at the "Tribute forAngela Lansbury" with Tyne Daly and Christine Ebersole held at the Bucks County Playhouse. In addition, she was a back-up singer forSarah Brightman on her La Luna tour.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 51st Annual Drama Desk Awards | Herself | Episode dated 21 May 2006. Performed with the cast ofSweeney Todd |
| Live with Regis and Kelly | Herself | Episode dated 5 June 2006. Performed with the cast ofSweeney Todd | |
| 60th Annual Tony Awards | Herself | Episode dated 11 June 2006. Performed with the cast ofSweeney Todd | |
| 2011 | Lights Out | Cindy | Episode: "The Shot" |
| 2013 | It Could Be Worse | Monitor | Episode: "Give 'Em Hell For Me Kid" |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Lucy Van Gaal | Episode: "KSR" |
| 2018 | The Today Show | Herself | Episode dated 16 August 2018. Performed with the cast ofDesperate Measures. |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Death is Lame | Lora | 20 minute short |
| 2017 | My Idle | Lauren Owings | 8 minute short |
Molina's vocal diversity ranges from pop belting tocoloratura soprano. She can often be found singing in New York City and across the country with her wit-rock comedy-pop duoThe Skivvies.[20] Lauren and her Skivvies bandmate,Nick Cearley, played Brad and Janet inThe Rocky Horror Show at the Bucks County Playhouse directed by Hunter Foster in 2013.
In 2007, Molina released her first EP entitled "Doo-Be-Doo".[21] Featuring all original folk/pop songs, this album is quirky and playful, with instrumentations such as ukulele, cello, guitar, piano, and accordion. In 2010, she released "Sea For Two" her first full-length album through the indy labelMother West.
Molina has been a frequent collaborator withJason Reischel, the Singer-Songwriter behind "My Cousin, The Emperor". In 2007, she playedcello on the song "Pieces Fall in Place" for Reischel's solo albumIrony-Free Parlor Music.[22] Molina also appeared on the My Cousin, The Emperor songsAnnie (The Levee Song) (cello) andSomedays (cello/vocals) from their 2011 EPThe Subway Eps, Vol. I: Prospect Park West.[23]
Videos from live performances can be found on heryoutube channel.
Molina created a webseries entitled "Rock of Ages Productions" along with formerRock of Ages castmates Mitchell Jarvis and Wesley Taylor. This absurd backstagemocumentary has 17 episodes and can be watched on YouTube atwww.youtube.com/rockofagesprod.
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