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Shoshana E. Bean (born September 1, 1977) is an Americans actress, singer and songwriter. She has appeared in numerous Musical theatre, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
In 2017, she won the IRNE Award as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. In the 2020s, Bean received two nominations at the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performances in Mr. Saturday Night (2022) and in Hell's Kitchen (2024), alongside two nominations the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the musicals' cast recording, winning it with the latter.
Bean has released three albums and has appeared on many theater cast recordings. She won a AIM Independent Music Award for Best R&B Song with her single "Superhero".
In 1995, Bean graduated from Beaverton High School. In 1999, Bean received a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
In 2004, Bean joined the Broadway production of the musical Wicked as a replacement standby for Elphaba, who was played by Idina Menzel. On January 8, 2005, a day before Menzel's scheduled end of her run as Elphaba, Menzel fell through a trap door and cracked a lower rib. Bean went on to perform that show. On January 11, 2005, Bean took over as Elphaba full-time, where she performed opposite Jennifer Laura Thompson and then Megan Hilty as Glinda, until her last show on January 8, 2006. On January 10, she was replaced by Eden Espinosa as Elphaba.
In 2006, Bean reprised the role of Elphaba in the first national tour of Wicked. Her limited engagement ended on December 31. In 2009, Bean joined the new production of Peepshow in Las Vegas in the role of Peep Diva alongside Holly Madison. She replaced Spice Girls singer Mel B. In 2011, Bean wrote and starred in the musical Dear John Mayer, with music and lyrics by Bean and book by fellow CCM graduate Eydie Faye.
In 2015, Bean portrayed the role of CeeCee Bloom in the musical adaptation of the book and movie Beaches at the Drury Lane Theater in Chicago. In June of 2016, Bean played Fanny Brice in North Shore Music Theatre's production of Funny Girl. In 2018, Bean performed in the New York City Center Encores! Off-Center production of Songs for a New World. On March 18, 2019, Bean returned to Broadway in the role of Jenna Hunterson in the production of Waitress for a limited engagement through May 2019. On May 13, 2019, it was announced that Bean's run was extended through July 21, 2019.
Starting in March 2022, she returned to Broadway in Mr. Saturday Night at the Nederlander Theatre starring Billy Crystal. For her performance, she received nominations for the Distinguished Performer Award at the Drama League Awards, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical at the 71st Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards Bean was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album as a cast singer.
Between October 2023 to January 2024 Bean starred as Jersey in Alicia Keys' Off-Broadway jukebox musical Hell's Kitchen at The Public Theater. She was confirmed for the Broadway production at the Shubert Theatre, which opened on April 20, 2024. For her performance on and Off-Broadway, she received nominations from the Tony Awards (with her second nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 77th Tony Awards), Drama Desk Awards, Drama League Awards, and Lucille Lortel Awards.
In December 2014, Bean released an EP album of blues called Shadows to Light. The record was produced by Bean and Jake Schaefer. It reached No. 1 on the iTunes Blues charts. She performed her single "Runaway Train" on The Queen Latifah Show. Beginning in 2015, Bean has performed with Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), performing Justin Bieber's "Sorry" and Backstreet Boys' “I Want It That Way,” among others. In the spring of 2016, she joined the PMJ European Tour.
In February 2018, Bean's third album, Spectrum, was released. The songs are in the genre of rhythm and blues. The record release was accompanied by a tour, which included concerts at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, which featured an 18-piece orchestra, as well as a string of other dates including in London at Cadogan Hall, Las Vegas and Dallas. Bean has said that inspirations for the record were the music of Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, and Frank Sinatra. In August and September 2019, Bean performed selected songs at a series of residency concerts at Feinstein's/54 Below.
Bean's music has been featured on MTV's The Hills, Mercy, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Bad Girls Club and Showtime's The Big C, and she arranged the vocals for Jennifer Lopez's performance of her 2014 song "I Luh Ya Papi" on American Idol. Bean has appeared on film soundtracks to Hairspray, Enchanted, the Wayans family' Dance Flick, and the 2016 animated musical Sing. Bean has performed around the world in cabarets and concerts. She has sung with artists such as BeBe Winans, Brian McKnight, Ariana Grande, David Foster, Jason Robert Brown and Michael Jackson, among others.
| + !Year !Production !Role !Venue !Dates !Notes | |||||
| 2000 | Godspell | Ensemble | York Theatre at Saint Peter's Church, New York | N/A | |
| 2001 | Leader of the Pack | Performer | N/A | Mar 13, 2001 - Jun 03, 2001 | National Tour |
| 2002 | Hairspray | Shelly/ Denizen of Baltimore/ Tracy Turnblad (Understudy)/ Velma Von Tussle (Understudy)/ Gym Teacher (Understudy - Replacement)/ Prudy Pingleton (Understudy - Replacement)/ Matron (Understudy - Replacement) | Neil Simon Theatre, New York | Opened Aug 15th, 2002 | |
| 2004 | Wicked | Elphaba (Standby) Elphaba (Replacement) | Gershwin Theatre, New York | Sept 7, 2004 - Jan 8, 2006 | |
| 2006 | Elphaba (Replacement) | US National Tour | Sep 6, 2006 - Dec 31, 2006 | "Emerald City" National Tour | |
| 2009 | Peepshow | Peep Diva | Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Paradise, Nevada | N/A | |
| 2011 | Dear John Mayer | N/A | Open Fist Theatre, Hollywood, California | N/A | also Music and Lyric credits |
| 2015 | Beaches | CeeCee Bloom | Drury Lane Theater, Chicago | Jun 24, 2015 - Aug 16 2015 | |
| 2017 | Funny Girl | Fanny Brice | North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, Massachusetts | N/A | |
| 2018 | Songs for a New World | Woman #2 | New York City Center Encores! Off-Center, New York | Jun 27, 2018 - Jun 30 2018 | |
| 2019 | Waitress | Jenna Hunterson | Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York | Mar 18, 2019 - Jul 21, 2019 | |
| 2022 | Mr. Saturday Night | Susan Young | Nederlander Theatre, New York | Mar 29, 2022 - Sep 4, 2022 | Nomination: Tony Award, Drama League Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award |
| 2023 | Hell's Kitchen | Jersey | The Public Theater, New York | Nov 9, 2023 - Jan 14, 2024 | |
| 2024 | Gutenberg! The Musical! | Producer | James Earl Jones Theatre, New York | Jan 24, 2024 | One night only |
| Hell's Kitchen | Jersey | Shubert Theatre, New York | April 20 - December 1, 2024 | Nomination: Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award, and Drama League Award. |
| + !Year !Title !Venue !Dates !Notes | ||||
| 2000 | First You Dream: A Tribute to Courage | New Amsterdam Theatre, New York | June 12, 2000 | Benefit for Actors' Fund of America and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation in honor of Christopher Reeve and Bran Pace |
| 2001 | Dreamgirls 20th Anniversary Benefit Concert | Ford Center for the Performing Arts | Sep 24, 2001 | Benefit for Actors' Fund of America |
| 2004 | Hair | New Amsterdam Theatre, New York | Sep 20, 2004 | Benefit for the Actors' Fund of America |
| 2008 | The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken | Gershwin Theatre, New York | Oct 27, 2008 | Benefit for New York Restoration Project |
| 2010 | AIM Independent Music Awards | "Superhero" | Best R&B Song | ||
| 2015 | Jeff Award | Beaches | Best Lead Actress in a Musical | ||
| 2017 | IRNE Award | Funny Girl | Best Actress | ||
| 2022 | Tony Award | Mr. Saturday Night | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | ||
| Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performer Award | ||||
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | ||||
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Best Musical Theater Album | |||
| 2024 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Hell's Kitchen | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical | ||
| Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | ||||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | ||||
| Tony Awards | Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | ||||
| Broadway.com Audience Awards | Favorite Featured Actress in a Musical | ||||
| Favorite Diva Performance | |||||
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best Musical Theater Album |
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