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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Victoria Clark | |
|---|---|
 Clark in 2025 | |
| Born | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Yale University (BA) New York University (MFA) |
| Occupations | Actress, singer, director |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse |
Thomas Reidy (m. 2015) |
| Children | 1[1] |
| Website | VictoriaClark.me |
Victoria Clark is an American actress, musical theatre soprano, and director. Clark has performed in numerous Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television works. Her voice can also be heard on various cast albums and in several animated films. In 2008, she released her first solo album titled Fifteen Seconds of Grace. A five-time Tony Award nominee, Clark won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2005 for The Light in the Piazza. She also won the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Jefferson Award for the role. She won a second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2023 for Kimberly Akimbo.
Clark was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Lorraine and Banks Clark.[2]
At Yale, at the age of eighteen, she sang the role of Mabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. She also sang the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, and directed a production of Ruddigore for the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society. After college, Clark studied at New York University's Musical Theatre Master's Program at Tisch[3] as a stage director and began to direct operas and musicals professionally. Although she continues to direct, she has primarily focused on singing and acting.
Clark's stage work includes understudying[4] in the original Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George (she never went on) and roles in the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls (1992–93), A Grand Night for Singing (1993–94), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1995–96, as Smitty), Titanic (1997–99, creating the role of Alice Beane), Cabaret (1999–2000, as Fraulein Kost) and Urinetown (2003, as Penelope Pennywise),[5] as well as numerous roles Off-Broadway, in national tours and in regional theatre. She played Doris MacAfee in the City Center Encores! production of Bye Bye Birdie in 2004.[6]
In 2005, Clark won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Jefferson Award for her performance in the musical The Light in the Piazza (2005–06). Broadway.com commented on Clark's performance, "What is indisputable is that Victoria Clark has created a character for the ages. Lucas has done a superb job in fleshing out Margaret within the confines of a musical-theater libretto, and Clark responds with consummate precision and grace. Calling hers the musical performance of the year would be accurate. It would also be a drastic understatement."[7] She appeared as former showgirl Sally Durant Plummer in the Encores! staged concert presentation of Follies in February 2007 at City Center. She next created the role of Margaret Brennan in The Marriage of Bette and Boo Off-Broadway in 2008 for the Roundabout Theatre Company.[8]
Clark appeared in Prayer for My Enemy, a new play by Craig Lucas Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons from November 14 through December 21, 2008. The play concerned the consequences that the Iraq war has had on an American family, co-starred Michele Pawk and Jonathan Groff, and was directed by Bartlett Sher.[9]
Clark has also appeared in movies, sung in several animated feature films, and appeared in roles in television episodes. She can be heard on a number of Broadway cast albums and other recordings. In 2008 she released her first solo album, Fifteen Seconds of Grace, produced by PS Classics. Clark teaches voice and studies acting at the Michael Howard Studios and voice with Edward Sayegh. Clark received the 2006 Distinguished Artist Award from the New York Singing Teachers' Association.
Clark played the Mother Superior in the Broadway production of Sister Act, which opened on April 20, 2011.[10] For this role she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[11] Clark portrayed Sally in the Kennedy Center/Broadway production of Follies, running at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, from May 3 through June 9, 2012.[12][13]
In 2013, Clark starred in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of The Snow Geese by Sharr White alongside Mary-Louise Parker and Danny Burstein.[14] Previously, she starred as Marie/the Fairy Godmother in the Broadway production of Cinderella.[15] For this role, she received her second Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[16] She returned to the Broadway production of Cinderella for a run lasting from January to September 2014.[17][18] In December 2014 Clark appeared as Carrie Mathison's mother on the Season 4 finale of Showtime's series Homeland.[19] Clark played Mamita in the Broadway revival of Gigi, which opened in April 2015.[20] For this performance, Clark received another nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[21]
In 2017, Clark appeared in the title role of Sousatzka in Toronto. It was intended to be a pre-Broadway tryout for controversial producer Garth Drabinsky.[22] In 2022, she recorded Maury Yeston's December Songs, featuring orchestration by Larry Hochman.[23]
After persuasion from longtime friend and composer Jeanine Tesori,[24] Clark first donned the candy necklace and late 90s fashion of the title role of Kimberly Akimbo in its acclaimed and extended 2021 Off-Broadway run at the Linda Gross Theatre, produced by the Atlantic Theater Company, for which she garnered Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards.[25] The musical debuted on Broadway in 2022, winning Clark her second Tony Award.
In 2025, Clark joined the cast of The Gilded Age as Joan Carlton.
Clark married Thomas Reidy on August 1, 2015, in North Carolina. Her son is from her previous marriage.[1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Chorus (singing voice) | |
| 1997 | Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas | Chorus (singing voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Anastasia | Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice) | |
| 1999 | Cradle Will Rock | Dulce Fox | |
| 2008 | The Happening | Nursery Owner's Wife | |
| 2009 | Tickling Leo | Madeline Pikler | |
| 2010 | Harvest | Anna Monopoli | |
| 2010 | Main Street | Miriam | |
| 2011 | Dirty Movie | Teacher | |
| 2012 | Archaeology of a Woman[26] | Kate |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | My Father's House | Zozo | TV film |
| 1998 | Law & Order | Detective | Episode: "Bait" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Margaret Melia | Episode: "Choice" |
| 2006 | Live from Lincoln Center | Margaret Johnson / Herself | Episode: "The Light in the Piazza" |
| 2009 | Mercy | Mrs. Simanski | Episode: "You Lost Me with the Cinderblock" |
| 2001 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert | Beggar Woman | TV film |
| 2013 | Late Show with David Letterman | Fairy Godmother | Season 20, episode 125 |
| 2014 | Homeland | Ellen Mathison | Episode: "Long Time Coming" |
| 2016 | The Good Wife | Shannon Janderman | Episode: "Verdict" |
| 2018 | The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair | Adult Jenny Quinn | 10 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Almost Family | Diane Doyle | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Little America | Tracy | Episode: "The Jaguar" |
| 2020 | One Royal Holiday | Queen Gabriella | TV film |
| 2021 | Pose | Vanessa | Episode: "Series Finale (Part I)" |
| 2021 | The Blacklist | Mrs. French | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | Elsbeth | Deborah Jordan | Episode: "Tearjerker" |
| 2025 | The Gilded Age | Joan Carlton | 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Cats | Jellylorum | First US National Tour |
| 1987 | Les Misérables | Madame Thénardier | First US National Tour |
| 1988 | Splendora | Performer | New York |
| 1989 | The Secret Garden | Martha Sowerby | Virginia Stage Company |
| 1992 | Guys and Dolls | Martha
u/s Miss Adelaide |
Broadway |
| 1993 | A Grand Night for Singing | Performer | Broadway |
| 1995 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Smitty | Broadway |
| 1997 | Titanic | Alice Beane | Broadway |
| 1999 | Cabaret | Fräulein Kost; Fritzie | Broadway |
| 2001 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Beggar Woman | Concert |
| 2003 | Urinetown | Penelope Pennywise | Broadway |
| 2003 | Baby | Arlene McNally | New York |
| 2004 | Bye Bye Birdie | Doris MacAfee | Encores! Concert |
| 2004 | The Light in the Piazza | Margaret Johnson | Chicago |
| 2005 | Broadway | ||
| 2007 | Follies | Sally | Encores! Concert |
| 2008 | The Marriage of Bette and Boo | Margaret Brennan | Off-Broadway |
| 2008 | Prayer for My Enemy | Dolores | Off-Broadway |
| 2009 | Love, Loss, and What I Wore | Performer | Off-Broadway |
| 2010 | When the Rain Stops Falling | Gabrielle York | Off-Broadway |
| 2011 | Sister Act | Mother Superior | Broadway |
| 2012 | Follies | Sally | Ahmanson Theatre |
| 2013 | Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella | Marie | Broadway |
| 2013 | The Snow Geese | Clarissa Hohmann | Broadway |
| 2015 | Gigi | Inez Alvarez | Kennedy Center; Broadway |
| 2017 | Sousatzka | Madame Sousatzka | Toronto |
| 2017 | Assassins | Sara Jane Moore | Encores! |
| 2017 | Damn Yankees | Meg Boyd | Concert |
| 2017 | The Trouble with Doug | Director | Fredericia Theatre, Denmark |
| 2019 | Lady in the Dark | Liza Elliott | New York City Center |
| 2021 | Kimberly Akimbo | Kimberly Levaco | Off-Broadway |
| 2022 | Broadway | ||
| 2025 | Love Life | Director | Encores! |
| 2025 | Punch | Joan | Broadway |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Victoria Clark is an American actress, musical theatre soprano, and director. Clark has performed in numerous Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television works. Her voice can also be heard on various cast albums and in several animated films. In 2008, she released her first solo album titled Fifteen Seconds of Grace. A five-time Tony Award nominee, Clark won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2005 for The Light in the Piazza. She also won the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Jefferson Award for the role. She won a second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2023 for Kimberly Akimbo.
Jeff Blumenkrantz (born June 3, 1965) is an American actor, composer and lyricist. Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, Blumenkrantz is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Communication. His stage credits include roles in the Broadway productions Into the Woods (1987), The Threepenny Opera (1989), Damn Yankees (1994), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1995), A Class Act (2001), and Bright Star (2016), and Off Broadway in Murder for Two, the City Center Encores productions of Anyone Can Whistle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and The Golden Apple, and the New York Philharmonic productions of Candide (as Maximillian) and Sweeney Todd (as The Beadle), both filmed for PBS. He has also appeared in such television shows as Succession (TV series), Pose (TV series), Mr. Robot, The Blacklist (TV series), Fosse/Verdon, The Detour, Will & Grace, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, Ugly Betty, Just Shoot Me!, and Law & Order, and the films The Big Sick and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 2000, noted Broadway actress and recording artist Audra McDonald included Blumenkrantz's song "I Won't Mind" on her CD, How Glory Goes. This lullaby (with lyrics by Annie Kessler and Libby Saines) has become a staple of McDonald's repertoire. Blumenkrantz also contributed a piece to The Seven Deadly Sins, a song cycle commissioned by Carnegie Hall for the singer. His comic song, "My Book," addressed the sin of sloth. In 2003, Blumenkrantz was nominated for a Best Original Score Tony Award for his work on Urban Cowboy, a nomination he shared with Jason Robert Brown and others. He wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Scaffolding as part of the 2018 Inner Voices series. Scaffolding was directed by Victoria Clark and starred Rebecca Luker. His song "Ovid" was featured in the Prospect Theatre Company's production of Notes from Now at 59E59 Theaters. In 2005–2006, Blumenkrantz created and hosted The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast, a weekly podcast featuring the songs from his songbook, occasional additional episodes of which were released until at least February 2010. This project was succeeded in 2008 by the BMI Workshop Songbook Podcast, which Blumenkrantz hosted, showcasing the eponymous songbook, which features the work of members of the BMI Songwriters' Workshop. Blumenkrantz is the recipient of the 2011 Fred Ebb Award for excellence in musical theatre songwriting.
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year." The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actresses—Musical. It was first presented to Grace Hartman at the 2nd Tony Awards for her portrayal of various characters in Angel in the Wings. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public; the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers". In 1965, Liza Minnelli, age 19, became the youngest actress to win the award. She is followed by Lea Salonga, age 20, in 1991. In 2017, Bette Midler, age 71, became the oldest actress to win the award. She is followed by Victoria Clark, age 63, in 2023. Angela Lansbury holds the record as the performer with the most wins in this category, with a total of four. Chita Rivera has the most nominations, with eight. The characters of Rose in Gypsy and Anna Leonowens in The King and I currently hold the record for most wins, each winning three times. Rose also holds the record for most nominations, with six.
A Grand Night for Singing is a musical revue showcasing the music of Richard Rodgers and the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II. The show had an original cabaret production and a subsequent Broadway engagement where it was nominated for two Tony® Awards. Featuring songs from Carousel, Oklahoma!, The King and I, South Pacific, Cinderella, The Sound of Music, Allegro, Me and Juliet, State Fair, Pipe Dream and Flower Drum Song, it originally was presented at Rainbow & Stars, the cabaret venue at The Rainbow Room restaurant atop Rockefeller Center. The original production titled, "A Grand Night For Singing! The Rodgers & Hammerstein Revue Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of their Historic Collaboration," (www.AGrandNightForSinging.com) ran for 1 preview plus 60 performances from March 2, 1993 to April 10, 1993 at Rainbow & Stars where The New York Times called the show a "radiant new revue" and a "musical masterstroke." This original production starred Victoria Clark, Jason Graae, Martin Vidnovic, Lynne Wintersteller, and Karen Ziemba with musical direction by Fred Wells and direction by Walter Bobbie. It was part of a ten year series of musical revues conceived and produced by Gregory Dawson, Steve Paul, and Scott Perrin which saluted Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart (starring Elaine Stritch and Margaret Whiting), Irving Berlin (starring Kaye Ballard), the Gershwins (starring JoAnne Worley), Julie Styne, Lerner & Loewe, Leonard Bernstein, and the R&B and pop eras (starring Marianne Faithfull and Darlene Love). During the six week run at Rainbow & Stars, the United States Postmaster General introduced the Rodgers & Hammerstein 50th Anniversary commemorative postage stamp at a luncheon in The Rainbow Room. At the start of that luncheon, the original surrey with the fringe on top with two white horses - as described in the lyric of the Broadway musical, Oklahoma! - greeted guests at the Rockefeller Plaza entrance to The Rainbow Room. The publicist for the show, David Lotz, created a notable press release for that occasion with the headline, "Whoa! Here Come Those High-Steppin' Strutters!" In conjunction with all the festivities, there was significant national press attention commemorating the anniversary. After 41 previews, the Broadway production, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Pamela Sousa, with vocal arrangements by Fred Wells and orchestrations by Michael Gibson and Jonathan Tunick, opened on November 17, 1993, at the Criterion Center Stage Right, where it ran for 52 performances. Victoria Clark, Jason Graae, Alyson Reed, Martin Vidnovic, and Lynne Wintersteller comprised the cast. Martin Vidnovic was replaced by Gregg Edelman on the cast recording and some later performances. The Broadway engagement was nominated for two Tony Awards: Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. It is the only production in Broadway history to be nominated for Best Book of a Musical that has no script - there are no spoken words. It is also the only revue in history to be nominated for Best Book of a Musical since revues are generally not eligible for awards that require a narrative framework. So, the nomination for Best Book of a Musical was in recognition of the sequence of songs. The show was also nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. An original cast archival recording of the Rainbow & Stars production is available at www.AGrandNightForSinging.com. An original cast recording of the Broadway version was released by Varèse Sarabande.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker
