American actress and singer
Amber Gray is an American actress and singer. She is known for originating the role of
Hélène Bezukhova in the musical
Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812
[1] and the role of
Persephone in the musical
Hadestown , both
off and on
Broadway . For the latter 2019 role, she was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical , additionally earning the 2020
Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album .
[2]
Early life and education
Gray is a
military brat and spent her early childhood across Europe and the United States.
[3] She later settled in
Wayland, Massachusetts , where she attended
Wayland High School .
She attended
Boston University where she received a
BFA in acting and
New York University where she received an
MFA in acting.
[4]
Career
In 2007, she began her screen career by appearing in an episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , titled "Haystack", as a character named Raye.
[5] She also worked as a photographer on Canada's Top Model in 2009 on the episode "Bright Lights: No Pity". In 2012, Gray first became involved with
Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 . Gray portrayed Countess
Hélène Bezukhova in the musical's performances at the Off-Off-Broadway
Ars Nova Theater .
[6] Gray continued with Great Comet when it moved to Kazino
Meatpacking in 2013, Kazino
Times Square in 2014, and when it opened on
Broadway in late 2016. Gray was awarded a 2017
Theatre World Award for her performance as Hélène.
[7]
In 2014, Gray reprised her leading role as Zoe in
An Octoroon at
Soho Repertory Theatre
[8] An Octoroon utilized the plot of
The Octoroon , an 1859 melodrama, but turned it into a contemporary new play that discusses
America's slave history and both past and present
racism . In an interview with
The New York Times , Gray spoke of the part's difficulty due to many intense racial scenes/
[3] Gray remained with the production when it went on to play at
Theatre for a New Audience in 2015.
In 2016, Gray portrayed
Persephone in
New York Theatre Workshop 's production of the new musical
Hadestown , based on
Anaïs Mitchell 's album of the same name and the tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
[2] Gray was again directed by
Rachel Chavkin , whom she collaborated with during Great Comet .
[9] Gray was praised by critics, who were impressed by her "vocal dexterity,"
[10] "charisma," and "powerhouse voice".
[11] She reprised this role in the Edmonton
Citadel Theatre , London
National Theatre , and Broadway productions. For the Broadway production, she received a nomination for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical .
In 2021, Gray appeared in the
Amazon limited series
The Underground Railroad as Gloria Valentine.
[12]
[13]
Personal life
Gray married Galen Hamilton in 2011.
[14] They have two children.
[15]
Gray is
biracial.
[16]
[17]
Theatre
Years
Production
Role
Theatre
Director
2004
Ain't Misbehavin
Charlaine
Huntington Theatre Company
Marcia Milgrom Dodge
2005
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Plymdale
Williamstown Theatre Festival
Moisés Kaufman
On The Razzle
Lisette
Williamstown Theatre Festival
David Jones
Prudence
Sarah
Connecticut Repertory Theatre
Tyler Marchant
2006
Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir
Activist, Singer
Internationally
Savitri D
2009
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Puck ,
Hippolyta ,
Theseus
Florence's
Villa La Pietra , NYC Bandshells,
Classic Stage Company
Jim Calder
2010
An Octoroon
Zoe
P.S. 122
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Banished Children of Eve
Eliza
Irish Repertory Theatre ,
Off-Broadway
Ciaran O'Reilly
2011
Sueño
The Sun
Atlas Theatre
Jack Fletcher
2011–13
The TEAM's Mission Drift
Joan
P.S. 122's COIL Festival, London's
National Theatre , Edinburgh's
Traverse Theatre , Lisbon, Coimbra, Salzburg, Hong Kong, Perth,
Williams College
Rachel Chavkin
2012
All Hands
Greta
Hoi Polloi
Alec Duffy
We Play for the Gods
Simi
Women's Project
Jessi D. Hill, Sarah Rasmussen, Mia Rovegno
The World is Round
Rose Rose Rose
Ripe Time
Rachel Dickstein
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Hélène Kuragina Bezukhova
Ars Nova ,
Off-Broadway
Rachel Chavkin
Eager to Lose
Trixie
Ars Nova
Portia Krieger and Wes Grantom
2013
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Hélène Kuragina Bezukhova
Kazino Meatpacking District,
Off-Broadway
Rachel Chavkin
2014
Kazino Times Square,
Off-Broadway
An Octoroon
Zoe
Soho Rep
Sarah Benson
2014–15
A 24 Decade History of Popular Music: 1900s-1950s
Singer
New York Live Arts with
Under the Radar
Taylor Mac , Niegel Smith
2015
An Octoroon
Zoe
Theatre for a New Audience
Sarah Benson
Oklahoma!
Laurey Williams
Bard SummerScape
Daniel Fish
Iphigenia in Aulis
Clytemnestra ,
Menelaus
Classic Stage Company
Rachel Chavkin
2016
Hadestown
Persephone
New York Theatre Workshop ,
Off-Broadway
2016–17
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Hélène Kuragina Bezukhova
Imperial Theatre ,
Broadway
2017
The TEAM's Primer for a Failed Superpower
Activist, Singer
Roulette
Hadestown
Persephone
Edmonton's
Citadel Theatre
2018–19
Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre
2019–22
Walter Kerr Theatre ,
Broadway
2019
Into the Wild
Performer
Playwrights Horizons
[18]
Lila Neugebauer
2021
Against Women and Music
Celine Gray
Virtual production
Sarna Lapine
2022
Macbeth
Banquo
Longacre Theatre ,
Broadway
Sam Gold
2023
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Performer
Benefit performance in
Tangier, Morocco
Rob Ashford
2023–24
Here We Are
Claudia Bursik-Zimmer
The Shed ,
Off-Broadway
Joe Mantello
Filmography
Film
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2011
Roger, the Chicken
Dr. Rose
2013
The Weekend
Maggie
2017
Walden: Life in the Woods
Melinda
2021
Where There's Smoke
Jenifer
Short film
2022
Master
Liv Beckman
Awards and nominations
References
^ Isherwood, Charles (November 14, 2016).
"Review: 'Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,' on the Heels of 'Hamilton' " . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved November 15, 2016 .
^
a
b Isherwood, Charles (May 23, 2016).
"Review: 'Hadestown' Reanimates a Well-Known Myth" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved May 15, 2017 .
^
a
b Soloski, Alexis (April 23, 2014).
"Amber Gray on 'An Octoroon,' at Soho Rep" . The New York Times . Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Tisch NYU.
"Select Alumni Bios" . tisch.nyu.edu . New York University. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Haystack (TV Episode 2007) - IMDb , retrieved April 17, 2020
^ H., Claire (December 3, 2013).
"Amber Gray on her adventures in "Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812" " . Stage Door Dish . Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^
" 'Great Comet' Actors and More Receive Theatre World Awards" . AMERICAN THEATRE . Theatre Communications Group. May 11, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Clement, Oivia (March 17, 2015).
"An Octoroon Star Amber Gray on the "Secrets and Lies" of Race and Theatre" . Playbill . Playbill Inc. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Kaplan, Janice (May 26, 2016).
"The Next 'Hamilton' Takes Place in Hell—and Stars Donald Trump" . The Daily Beast . The Daily Beast Company. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Stewart, Zachary.
"Hadestown" . TheaterMania.com . Theater Mania. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Patterson, Megan (August 23, 2016).
"All Aboard the Train to Hadestown" . HowlRound . Emerson College. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Evans, Greg (October 24, 2019).
" 'The Underground Railroad': Broadway's Amber Gray Joins Amazon Limited Series" . Deadline . Retrieved May 13, 2021 .
^ Selleck, Emily (October 24, 2019).
"Hadestown Star Amber Gray Joins Amazon's The Underground Railroad" . Playbill . Retrieved May 13, 2021 .
^
"Livin' It Up: Amber Gray Goes from 'Weak Link' of the School Play to Tony-Nominated Hadestown Standout" . Broadway.com . Retrieved May 4, 2021 .
^
"Hadestown Tony Nominee Amber Gray on Raising Babies While Performing 8 Shows a Week on Broadway" . People . Retrieved May 4, 2021 .
^ Clement, Olivia (March 17, 2015).
"An Octoroon Star Amber Gray on the "Secrets and Lies" of Race and Theatre" . Playbill . Retrieved May 4, 2021 .
^ Soloski, Alexis (April 23, 2014).
"Returning to an 'Impossible' Role" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved May 4, 2021 .
^
Amber Gray, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Ryan McCartan, More Featured in Industry Reading of Into the Wild Musical
^ Theatre World Awards.
"Theatre World Awards - Theatre World Awards" . www.theatreworldawards.org . Theatre World Awards. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Sterling Awards.
"Sterling Awards" . Archived from
the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018 .
^ McPhee, Ryan (April 30, 2019).
"2019 Tony Award Nominations: Hadestown and Ain't Too Proud Lead the Pack" . Playbill . Retrieved April 30, 2019 .
^ Lefkowitz, Andy (April 23, 2019).
"Hadestown, Tootsie & Oklahoma! Lead 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations" . Broadway.com . Retrieved April 23, 2019 .
^ Lefkowitz, Andy (April 17, 2019).
"Nominations Announced for 85th Annual Drama League Awards" . Broadway.com . Retrieved April 17, 2019 .
^
"2020 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List" . www.grammy.com . Retrieved January 15, 2023 .
External links