Nancy Carol Opel is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer, actress, and teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

. She grew up in the communities of Prairie Village

Prairie Village, Kansas

Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 21,447.- History :...

 and Leawood, Kansas

Leawood, Kansas

Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. The city is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 31,867.-History:...

. She graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School

Shawnee Mission East High School

Shawnee Mission East High School is a public secondary school in Prairie Village, Kansas, USA for grades 9–12. It is one of five schools operated by Unified School District 512....

 and later trained at Juilliard

Juilliard School

The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...

.

She was nominated for the Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Penelope Pennywise in Urinetown

Urinetown

Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...

. She has also appeared in Evita, Teddy & Alice

Teddy & Alice

Teddy & Alice is a musical with a book by Jerome Alden, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and music adapted from the work of the late John Philip Sousa, with some new songs by Richard Kapp...

, Sunday in the Park with George

Sunday in the Park with George

Sunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat...

, Anything Goes

Anything Goes

Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...

, Triumph of Love

Triumph of Love

Triumph of Love is a musical with a book by James Magruder, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jeffrey Stock.Resembling a chamber musical more than a traditional book musical, it is based on the 1732 Pierre de Marivaux commedia dell'arte play Le Triomphe de l'Amour and centers on Spartan...

, Gypsy

Gypsy: A Musical Fable

Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...

 and Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

. She portrayed Kafka in the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 debut of David Ives

David Ives

David Ives is a contemporary American playwright. A native of South Chicago, Ives attended a minor Catholic seminary and Northwestern University and, after some years' interval, Yale School of Drama, where he received an MFA in playwriting...

' one-acter, Words, Words, Words.

She most recently played three characters: the Mayor, Toxie's Mother, and a nun, in the rock musical The Toxic Avenger

The Toxic Avenger (musical)

The Toxic Avenger is a rock musical that is based on Lloyd Kaufman's 1985 film of the same name. The book of the musical was written by Joe DiPietro, its music by David Bryan, and both wrote the lyrics.-Productions:...

; she also played the title character in the first national tour of The Drowsy Chaperone

The Drowsy Chaperone

The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old...

.

Her television credits include Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

, Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...

, and Law & Order: SVU

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...

.

External links