Carmen Cusack is an American musical theater actress and singer. She is known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, North American Tour and Melbourne productions of the musical Wicked, as well as for originating the role of Alice Murphy in the Broadway musical, Bright Star. Her performance was highly praised and earned her a Tony Award nomination and a 2016 Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut.
Early life
Cusack attended the University of North Texas and graduated with a performing arts degree. She trained in opera, ballet, jazz and tap. Cusack is married to actor Paul Telfer. After completing university, she accepted a job on the MS Queen Elizabeth 2, which changed the course of her career. In Manchester, England, she had her breakthrough role as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera. Soon after this, she made her West End debut as Fantine in Les Misérables. She also appeared in the original West End productions of The Secret Garden and Personals.
Career
''Wicked''
Cusack returned to America, and on December 12, 2006, joined the Chicago production of Wicked as the standby for the lead role of Elphaba. Impressed with her portrayal of the character, the producers asked her to star in the lead role on the show's first national tour, beginning in October 2007. Her role as standby was taken over by Jennifer DiNoia. She began performances on tour, replacing Victoria Matlock, on November 6, 2007. She starred alongside Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda. After spending one year on tour, she left on November 2, 2008, and was replaced by Donna Vivino, who had been her standby. Cusack was next seen in the Melbourne production in Australia, as the temporary standby for Elphaba: Amanda Harrison had taken a break from the show due to illness, and the standby, Jemma Rix, had been given the lead role. Cusack was with the company from June 10 to July 10, 2009. She left to begin rehearsals for South Pacific.
Other roles
In 2009, Cusack played Nellie Forbush in the first national tour of South Pacific. Based on the 2008 Broadway revival, performances began September 18, 2009 in San Francisco. For this role Cusack was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non Resident Production. In 2012, she played the role of Miss Gardner in the Off-Broadway revival of Carrie - The Musical, which began performances at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on January 31, 2012. Carrie played a limited run until April 8, 2012. In 2013, Cusack played the role of Mother in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's critically acclaimed production of Ragtime. Cusack appeared as Dot/Marie in the Chicago Shakespeare Theater production of Sunday in the Park with George from September 26 to November 4, 2012, opposite Jason Danieley. Cusack appeared in the production of the new musical First Wives Club, based on the film, beginning in February 2015. The musical ran at the Oriental Theatre, Chicago, Illinois. Cusack played the role of Annie. In 2020, Cusack will originate a leading role in the new musical Flying Over Sunset, directed by James Lapine. The production will begin in March 2020 at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater.
In 2018, Cusack appeared as Sabrina in James Ponsoldt's critically acclaimed Facebook Watch dramedy Sorry for Your Loss, and was cast opposite Tom Hanks in Marielle Heller's Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. In 2019, Cusack was cast as a series regular on NBC's Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. On August 27, 2019, it was announced that Lauren Graham had replaced Cusack in the role of Joan.
