Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Encyclopedia
Stephanie D'Abruzzo is an American
actress and puppeteer
.
, a Pittsburgh suburb
she has described as a "plastic bubble kind of town." She graduated from Peters Township High School
, where she was active in the theater program, and attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts
, a summer program for gifted high school students.
D'Abruzzo is a 1993 graduate of the Radio/Television/Film program at Northwestern University
. A resident of the university's Communications Residential College (CRC), D'Abruzzo could often be caught watching (and, as it turns out, studying) Sesame Street
. She also had a large collection of Muppet
recordings, which she compiled into a mix-tape that she auctioned off for dorm fundraisers.
Eventually, D'Abruzzo began to consider puppetry as a career, in part as a solution to finding acting roles after she "gained more than the Freshman 15 and [got] a bad perm." D'Abruzzo's production of a puppet television show called Freeform (directed by Elizabeth Kirkscey) won the National College Emmy award for comedy.
D'Abruzzo's other standout roles at Northwestern included Mildred in the short film The Ballad of Hank and Mildred and as herself in The Glance. While in college, she also performed with a campus improvisational comedy troupe.
musical Avenue Q
. D'Abruzzo earned widespread acclaim for her performance of the dual role, including a nomination for the 2004 Tony Award
for Best Actress in a Musical
, a Drama Desk
nomination, the Theatre World Award
, and the Outer Critics Circle Special Ensemble Award.
Her other stage credits include I Love You Because
(off-Broadway
), If You Give A Mouse A Cookie (TheaterworksUSA), Carnival (for City Center Encores!
), Kiss and Makeup (New York City Fringe Festival), and Austentatious (New York Musical Theatre Festival).
D'Abruzzo has performed in developmental readings of Avenue Q, I Love You Because, Oh, What a Lovely War!
, The $trip, The Medium at Large, and The Green Room.
She has also been featured in several concerts and benefits, including Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004 at Carnegie Hall
, Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash, Chess
(for the Actors' Fund), Children and Art: Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday Gala, and Stephen Sondheim's 75th: The Concert (at the Hollywood Bowl
).
D'Abruzzo appears on the original cast recordings of Avenue Q and I Love You Because, and performs the parts of "Sheldon" and "Deb" on the studio recording of Finding Nemo - The Musical, a new musical production performed several times each day at Disney's Animal Kingdom
.
She is also one of the performers included in the documentary Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway, which chronicles the 2003-2004 Broadway season.
In May 2005, D'Abruzzo made her solo cabaret debut at the New York City jazz
club Birdland
.
, including a notable performance singing with R.E.M. in a new version of their song "Shiny Happy People
" called "Furry Happy Monsters".
Her other puppeteering and voice work includes appearances in Oobi
, Sheep in the Big City
, The Book of Pooh
, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
, and Jack's Big Music Show
, along with various commercials and promos. She currently has been added to the large celebrity cast and is one of the only two Broadway actors on VH1
's I Love the... series (along with Stephen Lynch
from the musical The Wedding Singer
).
D'Abruzzo guest starred in a musical episode of Scrubs
titled "My Musical
", as a patient with a mysterious ailment that caused her to interpret speech as Broadway-esque song and dance numbers. She sang in five of the nine songs. Four of the episode's songs were co-written by Avenue Q composers Robert Lopez
and Jeff Marx
. The episode aired on January 18, 2007 on the NBC
network and was nominated for five Emmy Awards. She appeared in a cameo in episode "My Finale
", as series protagonist J.D. leaves Sacred Heart for the final time.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and puppeteer
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
.
Early life
D'Abruzzo grew up in McMurray, PennsylvaniaMcMurray, Pennsylvania
McMurray is a community in Peters Township, Washington County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The U.S. Census Bureau defined the community as a census-designated place , though it has no legal status as a separately incorporated municipality. The population was 4,726 at the 2000 census...
, a Pittsburgh suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
she has described as a "plastic bubble kind of town." She graduated from Peters Township High School
Peters Township High School
Peters Township High School is a public high school in McMurray, Pennsylvania, at 264 East McMurray Road. It was built in 1968 and renovated in 1981. In January 2001, a 16-month, $24 million renovation was completed. The high school includes students from grades 9 through 12...
, where she was active in the theater program, and attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts
Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts
The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts was one of the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence, a group of five-week summer academies for gifted high school students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The school was hosted each summer by Mercyhurst College...
, a summer program for gifted high school students.
D'Abruzzo is a 1993 graduate of the Radio/Television/Film program at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. A resident of the university's Communications Residential College (CRC), D'Abruzzo could often be caught watching (and, as it turns out, studying) Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. She also had a large collection of Muppet
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
recordings, which she compiled into a mix-tape that she auctioned off for dorm fundraisers.
Eventually, D'Abruzzo began to consider puppetry as a career, in part as a solution to finding acting roles after she "gained more than the Freshman 15 and [got] a bad perm." D'Abruzzo's production of a puppet television show called Freeform (directed by Elizabeth Kirkscey) won the National College Emmy award for comedy.
D'Abruzzo's other standout roles at Northwestern included Mildred in the short film The Ballad of Hank and Mildred and as herself in The Glance. While in college, she also performed with a campus improvisational comedy troupe.
Broadway
Though D'Abruzzo has spent most of her career performing as a puppeteer in children's television, she is best known for originating the roles of single schoolteacher Kate Monster and sultry chanteuse Lucy the Slut in the BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
. D'Abruzzo earned widespread acclaim for her performance of the dual role, including a nomination for the 2004 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 Actress in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is the Tony Awards award given to the actress who was voted as the best leading actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival...
, a Drama Desk
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination, the Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
, and the Outer Critics Circle Special Ensemble Award.
Her other stage credits include I Love You Because
I Love You Because
I Love You Because is a musical set in modern day New York, inspired by the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice. It features lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, set to music by Joshua Salzman.-Production history:...
(off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
), If You Give A Mouse A Cookie (TheaterworksUSA), Carnival (for City Center Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
), Kiss and Makeup (New York City Fringe Festival), and Austentatious (New York Musical Theatre Festival).
D'Abruzzo has performed in developmental readings of Avenue Q, I Love You Because, Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop in 1963...
, The $trip, The Medium at Large, and The Green Room.
She has also been featured in several concerts and benefits, including Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004 at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash, Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
(for the Actors' Fund), Children and Art: Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday Gala, and Stephen Sondheim's 75th: The Concert (at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
).
D'Abruzzo appears on the original cast recordings of Avenue Q and I Love You Because, and performs the parts of "Sheldon" and "Deb" on the studio recording of Finding Nemo - The Musical, a new musical production performed several times each day at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than . It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely...
.
She is also one of the performers included in the documentary Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway, which chronicles the 2003-2004 Broadway season.
In May 2005, D'Abruzzo made her solo cabaret debut at the New York City jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
club Birdland
Birdland (jazz club)
Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979...
.
Television
Since 1993, D'Abruzzo has performed as various Muppets in Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, including a notable performance singing with R.E.M. in a new version of their song "Shiny Happy People
Shiny Happy People
"Shiny Happy People" is a song by the band R.E.M.. The song appeared on their 1991 album Out of Time and was released as a single in the same year. The song features guest backing vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52's, who also has a prominent role in the song's music video.It peaked at #10 on the...
" called "Furry Happy Monsters".
Her other puppeteering and voice work includes appearances in Oobi
Oobi
Oobi is an American children's television series. Based on an award-winning short-form series, the show is directed toward preschoolers. It currently airs on Nick Jr. . It was created by Josh Selig and produced by his company Little Airplane Productions.It is currently shown at 2:00am and 2:30am...
, Sheep in the Big City
Sheep in the Big City
Sheep in the Big City is an American animated television series which ran on Cartoon Network for two seasons, from November 4, 2000 to April 7, 2002....
, The Book of Pooh
The Book of Pooh
The Book of Pooh is an American television series that aired on the Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A...
, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is an American live-action/puppet television series based on characters created by Dr. Seuss, produced by Jim Henson Productions. It aired for two seasons on the Nick Jr. Block on Nickelodeon...
, and Jack's Big Music Show
Jack's Big Music Show
Jack's Big Music Show is a children's television program currently airing on the Nick Jr. television network. The show premiered on the same network on September 12, 2005...
, along with various commercials and promos. She currently has been added to the large celebrity cast and is one of the only two Broadway actors on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's I Love the... series (along with Stephen Lynch
Stephen Lynch (musician)
Stephen Andrew Lynch , is an American stand-up comedian, musician and Tony Award-nominated actor who is known for his songs mocking daily life and popular culture. Lynch has released two studio albums and two live albums along with a live DVD...
from the musical The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer is a 1998 romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler as a wedding singer in the 1980s and Drew Barrymore as a waitress with whom he falls in love....
).
D'Abruzzo guest starred in a musical episode of Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
titled "My Musical
My Musical
"My Musical" is a musical episode from the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs. It follows the story of Patti Miller, played by guest star Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame, a woman who mysteriously starts hearing everyone's speech as singing.The episode was written by Deb Fordham,...
", as a patient with a mysterious ailment that caused her to interpret speech as Broadway-esque song and dance numbers. She sang in five of the nine songs. Four of the episode's songs were co-written by Avenue Q composers Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez is an American composer and lyricist of musicals best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Avenue Q and for co-creating the musical The Book of Mormon, receiving Tony Awards for both works....
and Jeff Marx
Jeff Marx
Jeff Marx is a composer and lyricist of musicals. He is best known for creating the Broadway musical Avenue Q with collaborator Robert Lopez.- Early life :...
. The episode aired on January 18, 2007 on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network and was nominated for five Emmy Awards. She appeared in a cameo in episode "My Finale
My Finale
"My Finale" is the hour-long season finale for season eight of the American sitcom Scrubs. It was originally broadcast as episode 18 of season eight on May 6, 2009, and was intended to be the series finale. However, the show unexpectedly returned for a ninth season...
", as series protagonist J.D. leaves Sacred Heart for the final time.
Personal life
D'Abruzzo's husband, Craig Shemin, is also a CRC alumnus, though he graduated before she began her college studies.External links
- the official website of Stephanie D’Abruzzo
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Avenue Q
- I Love You Because...
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo and John Tartaglia - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.orgAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
- THE Q INTERVIEW: Kate Monster interviews Stephanie
- Star File: Stephanie D'Abruzzo
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo video interview parts 1 and 2 at the Scrubs Production Blog
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo at the Muppet Wiki
- BroadwayWorld.com interview with Stephanie D'Abruzzo, June 13, 2007