Laura Osnes

Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker , for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical . She currently stars in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein s Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Osnes was born in Burnsville, Minnesota , and raised in Eagan, Minnesota , a suburb of Minneapolis . [ 2 ] Her first acting performance was in the second grade, where she played a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz . She attended Eagan High School . Laura attended the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point where she majored in Musical Theatre, a program which the school is nationally known for. Laura also honed her skills in productions at the acclaimed Childrens Theatre Company the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and the world-renowned Guthrie Theatre before she graduated from Eagan High School In 2005–2006 she returned to Minneapolis to be a performing apprentice at the Childrens Theatre Company , performing in Working , Aladdin Jr. , Prom , and Pippi Longstocking . In 2006, she choreographed and starred in Peter Pan at a local community theatre. She also played the lead of Sandy in Grease at the nations largest dinner theatre the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres , but her run was cut short when she was chosen to compete in the nationally televised Broadway talent competition Grease: Youre the One that I Want! . Osnes was engaged to Nathan Johnson (as shown in the March 18, 2007 episode of Grease: Youre the One that I Want! ), whom she met when both were understudies on Aladdin. They were originally planning to marry on March 24 and honeymoon in Aruba , but postponed the wedding so that she could participate in the competition. Because the schedule conflicted with March 25, 2007 episode, they rescheduled the wedding to May 11, 2007, and are now married and reside in Manhattan . Grease: Youre the One that I Want! [ edit ] Main article: Grease: Youre the One that I Want! Laura Osnes was nicknamed "Small Town Sandy" in the show, even though Eagan is a large suburb of Minneapolis , a major US city. She was a favorite to win during the entire course of the show, never showing up in the "sing-off" bottom two during the shows run. She was named the winner on March 25, 2007, which meant she would perform the lead character of Sandy opposite Max Crumm , the shows male competitor who won the role of "Danny". In April 2008, Osnes announced via her Myspace blog that she did not plan to continue with Grease when it was to begin its national tour in late 2008. Osnes and Crumm played their final performances as Sandy and Danny on July 20, 2008, and they were succeeded by Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeling, two of the runners-up of Grease: Youre the One that I Want! . Post- Grease [ edit ] Osnes starred in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Broadway: Three Generations , a three-act evening featuring condensed versions of Girl Crazy , Bye Bye Birdie , and Side Show . The show was presented at the Kennedy Centers Eisenhower Theater October 2–5, 2008. She then played Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennet for the concert version of the new Broadway-aimed musical Pride & Prejudice that was presented October 21, 2008 at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York . In early December Osnes returned home to Minneapolis and performed in a local Christmas pageant. On January 11, 2009 she took part in the Rock Tenor Showcase , a showcase of a new concert experience that melds classical and Broadway music with rock-n-roll songs, at the Florence Gould Hall in Manhattan , and then sang at Dreamlight Theatre Companys "Bright Lights" concert series on the evening of January 26 entitled A Night with The Ladies . Broadway career [ edit ] On March 10, 2009 Osnes took over the role of Ensign Nellie Forbush from Tony Award nominee Kelli OHara , who went on maternity leave, in the Lincoln Center Theater Broadway revival of South Pacific . She stayed with the show through October 4, 2009. She then starred as Bonnie Parker in the world premiere of Bonnie & Clyde ; the musical played at the La Jolla Playhouse from Nov. 10 to Dec. 20, 2009. On December 20, 2009 Osnes performed in a Christmas special with the band at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, MN. Osnes returned to the role of Nellie Forbush in the Broadway production of South Pacific on January 5, 2010. She played her final performance on August 8, 2010. OHara once again returned to the production two days later to film the "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast of the show. Osnes reprised the role of Bonnie Parker in Bonnie & Clyde at the Asolo Repertory Theatre , Sarasota, Florida in November and December 2010. She then starred as Hope Harcourt, alongside Sutton Foster and Joel Grey , in the Broadway revival of Anything Goes , which began previews on March 10, 2011 and officially opened on April 7, 2011. For this role Osnes received nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical . She was also nominated for an Astaire Award for excellence in dance. Osnes departed the production on September 11, 2011 and was succeeded by Erin Mackey on September 13. Osnes performed at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors in a tribute to Barbara Cook alongside Sutton Foster , Rebecca Luker , Kelli OHara , Patti LuPone , Glenn Close , and Audra McDonald . Beginning previews on November 4, 2011 with a December 1 opening night, Osnes once again played Bonnie Parker , this time on Broadway as Bonnie & Clyde made its Broadway debut at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre . She was joined by her Asolo Rep castmate Jeremy Jordan as Clyde Barrow . Other cast members included Melissa van der Schyff (2003s Big River ) as Blanche Barrow , Claybourne Elder ( Road Show ) as Buck Barrow , and Louis Hobson ( Next to Normal ) as Ted Hinton . Despite a generally positive audience reception, due to negative critics reviews and lackluster ticket sales the show closed on December 30, 2011. A cast recording of the show took place January 2, 2012 and was released April 24, 2012. In January 2012, Osnes played the title character in an industry-only reading of the reworked adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Cinderella . She then led the Encores! production of Rodgers and Hammersteins Pipe Dream, based on John Steinbeck s novel Sweet Thursday. Under the direction of Marc Bruni, the production ran from March 28 to April 1, 2012. On April 24, 2012, Osnes headlined a benefit performance of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall as Maria Rainer. Also featured were Tony Goldwyn as Captain von Trapp, Brooke Shields as Elsa Schraeder and Patrick Page as Max Detweiler. In August 2012, it was announced that Cinderella would begin performances at the Broadway Theatre on January 21, 2013; performances were later rescheduled and officially began January 25, 2013, with a March 3 opening night. From November 27 to December 1, 2012, Osnes performed the music of Maury Yeston at 54 Below . A studio recording was released on June 4, 2013. Osnes was nominated for a 2013 Tony Award for her performance in Cinderella, which is currently continuing its open-ended run.