Jennifer Damiano

Jennifer "Jenn" Damiano (born May 12, 1991[1]) is an American actress and singer, most known for originating the role of Natalie Goodman in Next to Normal on Broadway. She was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance. She appeared in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway as Mary Jane Watson; the musical opened officially on June 14, 2011.[2] She returned to Broadway in March 2016 in the musical adaptation of American Psycho.

Jennifer Damiano
Born (1991-05-12) May 12, 1991[1]
White Plains, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress, Singer
Years active2006–present

Early life

Damiano was born in White Plains, New York to Mark and Nancy Damiano. Her father, Mark, owns an amusement company, and her mother Nancy works at a hospital. When she was nine years old, she began taking voice lessons and joined a children's theatre, The Random Farms Kids' Theater, playing parts such as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, the title role in Cinderella, Gertrude in Seussical and Marion Paroo in The Music Man. As Damiano began her acting career, she stayed enrolled in her hometown's public high school, where she graduated in 2009.[3]

Career

Theatre

At the age of nine, Damiano made her professional debut in New York City playing Samantha and Josefina in a show based on the American Girl dolls. While continuing to participate in suburban community theater in shows such as Oliver!, Damiano continued to perform professionally, in small professional roles in New York City. Off-Broadway, she appeared in Inner Voices: Solo Voices at the now-defunct Zipper Factory.[4]

On December 10, 2006, at the age of 15, she joined the original cast of the musical Spring Awakening on Broadway as an ensemble member and understudy for the roles of Anna, Martha, Ilse and Thea. She was the youngest performer in the cast. Damiano was originally hired also to understudy Lea Michele in the leading role of Wendla, but she was not legally able to cover the role because she was under 16 and the role requires brief nudity.

She remained in the cast until December 2007, when she began rehearsals for the role of Natalie, the angsty teenage daughter of a woman with manic-depression in the musical Next to Normal. She was cast in the role of Natalie for the show's Off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theater. The show later moved to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. for an out of town tryout and eventually to Broadway at the Booth Theatre. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance. She left the production on July 18, 2010 (along with co-stars Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James). She was replaced by original Natalie standby Meghann Fahy.

Following Next to Normal, Damiano originated the role of Mary Jane Watson in the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway. The show, which began previews on November 28, 2010, and, after a record-setting number of previews, opened officially on June 14, 2011, was originally directed by Julie Taymor and later by Philip William McKinley of The Boy from Oz.[5][6] After almost a year with the show, Damiano played her final performance on November 6, 2011, and was succeeded by Rebecca Faulkenberry of Broadway's Rock of Ages, from Nov. 10.[7] Following her departure from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Damiano took part in a variety of readings, workshops, and concert works.

In 2013, Damiano joined the Off-Broadway dystopian musical Venice at the Public Theater for a limited run. The cast included Haaz Sleiman, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Uzo Aduba.[8]

On November 9, 2015, it was announced that Damiano would return to Broadway (for the first time in four years) and reunite with Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik and Next to Normal co-star Alice Ripley in the musical adaptation of American Psycho in the role of Jean (as portrayed by Chloë Sevigny in the 2000 feature film of the same name). The new musical began previews on March 24, 2016, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway.

In 2017, Damiano starred in Zack Zadek's musical Deathless at Norma Terris Theater, home of Goodspeed Musicals in Chester, CT. The show was directed by Tina Landau and began performances on June 2, 2017, ending on July 2, 2017.[9]

In December 2019, it was announced that Damiano would star alongside Ana Nogueira, Joél Pérez, and Michael Zegen in the world premiere of the screen-to-stage adaptation of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice by The New Group.[10]

Other appearances

Damiano appeared on Gossip Girl in the episode entitled "It's a Wonderful Lie."[11] In 2013, she starred in the acclaimed indie film B-Side,[11] her first movie. Damiano has already appeared in Vogue, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and Nylon Magazine on behalf of her role as Mary-Jane Waston in the infamous Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical.

Reviews and awards

Damiano was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Next to Normal's out-of-town tryout in D.C. Later, she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical when the show moved to Broadway.

In his review in the New York Times following the 2009 Broadway opening, Ben Brantley observed, "The notion that personality is fragile, always on the edge of decomposition, is exquisitely reflected in Ms. Damiano’s astringent, poignant Natalie".[12] Peter Marks of the Washington Post said she "locates a new depth of adolescent disdain and need."[13]

Year Award Ceremony Category Result
2007 Broadway.com Audience Awards Best Ensemble Won
2009 Helen Hayes Awards Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production Nominated
Tony Awards Best Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2013 B-Side April Simon
2015 4th Man Out Tracy
Emily & Tim Helayne Specter Segment 'Betrayal'
2018 American Dresser Kate
2020 The Surrogate Rachel

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Gossip Girl Justine Episode: "It's a Wonderful Lie"
2011 Late Show with David Letterman Mary Jane Watson Episode: "Amanda Seyfried/B.J. Novak/Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark"
2013 It Could Be Worse Stacy 4 episodes

Theatre
Year Production Role Location Category
2005 Oliver! Ensemble Westchester Broadway Theater Regional
2006-7 Spring Awakening Anna, Thea, Martha and Ilse u/s Eugene O'Neill Theatre Broadway
2008 Inner Voices: Alice Unwrapped Alice The Zipper Factory Off-Broadway
2008 Next to Normal Natalie Second Stage Theater Off-Broadway
2008 Arena Stage Regional
2009-10 Booth Theatre Broadway
2010-11 Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark Mary Jane Foxwoods Theatre Broadway
2013 Venice Willow Turner The Public Theater Off-Broadway
2016 American Psycho Jean Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Broadway
2017 Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical Kathryn Merteuil Le Poisson Rouge Off-Broadway (pop-up engagement)
2017 Deathless Hayley Norma Terris Theatre Regional
2020 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Carol Pershing Square Signature Center Off-Broadway

References
  1. "30 Under 30 - Jennifer Damiano". BroadwaySpace.com. 2011. Age: 19 (5/12/1991)
  2. Vinventelli, Elisabeth (2011-06-15). "Spidey's back! Finally, 'Dark' debut sees light of day". New York City, New York, USA: New York Post. Retrieved 2011-06-15. "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," the busy musical spectacle that opened last night...
  3. Jennifer Damiano interview accessed 12-23-2015
  4. "INTERVIEW: Jennifer Damiano". Broadway.com. April 9, 2009.
  5. "Spider-Man-Bound Jennifer Damiano to Depart Next to Normal". Playbill.com. June 8, 2010.
  6. "Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, Patrick Page to Star in Spider-Man; Performances Begin in November". Playbill.com. August 10, 2010. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011.
  7. Gans, Andrew (October 28, 2011). "Broadway's Spider-Man to Welcome Rebecca Faulkenberry and Christina Sajous". Playbill. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  8. "Venice - 2013 Off-Broadway Tickets, Reviews, News, Information, Photos, Videos". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  9. "Jennifer Damiano and Jessica Phillips to Lead Goodspeed's Deathless | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  10. Meyer, Dan (2019-12-10). "Jennifer Damiano, Ana Nogueira, More Join Cast of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Musical Off-Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  11. Jennifer Damiano's IMDB page
  12. "Theater Review: 'Next to Normal'". New York Times. April 16, 2009.
  13. "Theater Review of 'Next to Normal' and 'Hair' on Broadway". Washington Post. April 16, 2009.
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