Alice Ripley

Alice Ripley (born Alice Hathaway Ripley December 14, 1963) is a Tony Award-winning American actress, singer and songwriter.

Early life

Born of five children in San Leandro, California, Ripley grew up in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Her parents divorced and both later re-married. She gained five step-siblings, when her father, Richard, re-married (her father and stepmother had one more child, Alice's half-sister) while she gained three more step-siblings when her mother, Susan, re-married.

Education

Alice attended West Carrollton Senior High, located near Dayton, Ohio and graduated from there in 1981. She went to DePauw University where her voice was famous at Delta Gamma. She then transferred to Kent State University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Theatre career

Early Work

Ripley began her theatre career as a member of the cast at the Lakewood Little Theatre, in the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood, Ohio. She also performed in several productions as a member of "The Barnstormers", the Lakewood High Drama Club. While at DePauw University and Kent State University, she performed in several more productions. Following college, Ripley was active in community theatre in San Diego.

Broadway Debut- Later Career

Ripley made her Broadway debut in ''The Who's Tommy in 1993. Additional Broadway roles include 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), and Janet in The Rocky Horror Show (2000)

. She also performed in a benefit concert performance of Dreamgirls in 2001.
Ripley's performance as one half of a pair of Siamese twins in Side Show (1997) earned her critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination shared with co-star Emily Skinner, making them the first women to be co-nominated. It was only the second time in Tony history that two performers were co-nominated as a team for the same award (John Kani and Winston Ntshona had shared a Best Actor win in 1975 for Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island). Ripley was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Actress in a Musical.

Recent Work

Ripley began writing songs in 1991 and her band RIPLEY formed in 2003. RIPLEY is a self produced trio with Ripley on guitar and vocals.

In October-November 2007, Ripley starred in Michael John LaChiusa's Little Fish with the Blank Theatre Company in Los Angeles, California. From January through March 2008 Ripley starred as Diana Goodman in Next to Normal at Second Stage Theatre in New York. Later that spring, Ripley was recognized as the only leading actress in an off-broadway musical to be nominated for a Drama Desk Award that year. From November 2008 through January 2009 Ripley reprised her role in Next to Normal at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. In March 2009 Next to Normal opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre, with Ripley again reprising her role, along with the rest of the Arena Stage cast. She received a Helen Hayes Award (April 13, 2009) for her performance, and Next to Normal won best musical in a non-resident production. She won a 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Diana in Next to Normal.

Film Work

She has appeared in two films, The Adulterer (2000) and Temptation (2004).

Regional Theatre

Ripley's regional theatre credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Tell Me On A Sunday, Company, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Showboat,''The Baker's Wife, and Carousel.

Collaboration with Emily Skinner

Following their starring in Side Show together, she has worked with Emily Skinner on numerous occasions for 11 years following the show's closing. Shortly after the Side Show, the two co-starred together in the short-lived stint on Broadway "James Joyce's The Dead." Ripley and Skinner have also collaborated on three recordings, Duets, Unsuspecting Hearts, and Raw at Town Hall, taped live during their October 21, 2006 concert. She is included in a number of original cast and compilation recordings. They continue to do some concerts together, most recently in April 2008.

Personal life

Ripley is married to musician (drummer) Shannon Ford.

Discography

Next to Normal (2009, Ghostlight) (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Little Fish (2007, Ghostlight), (Original Cast Recording)
SONGS FOR THE JESSE (2007, Dancing Bull Music)
OCTOBER PROJECT COVERED (2006, october project records).
OUTTASITE (2006, Shellac).--RIPLEY
SHADES OF WRONG (2005, Dancing Bull Music) --KIRK DETWEILER
RIPLEY EP (2003, Shellac), --RIPLEY
EVERYTHING’S FINE (2001, Sh-K-Boom), --SOLO ALBUM
Raw at Town Hall: Skinner/Ripley (2006, Kritzerland),
Sondheim: The Stephen Sondheim Album (2001, Varese Sarabande),
ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS (2001, Varese Sarabande),
The Rocky Horror Show (2000), (The New Broadway Cast Recording)
The Stephen Schwartz Album (1999, Varese Sarabande),
Duets (1998, Varese Sarabande), (Studio album with Emily Skinner)
Unsuspecting Hearts (1998, Original Cast Records), (Studio Album with Emily Skinner)
Side Show (1997, Sony), (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
The Who's Tommy(1993, RCA Victor Broadway).

Signed Music Artists