Beth Leavel (born November 1, 1955) is an American stage and screen actress and singer. She is best known for her performances in Broadway musicals such as The Drowsy Chaperone, Baby It's You! and The Prom, receiving Tony Award nominations for all three and winning for The Drowsy Chaperone.
Life and career Leavel attended Needham B. Broughton High School and Meredith College, earning a degree in social work. She completed a graduate theatre degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1980. She acted during college, appearing in productions such as Cabaret and Hello, Dolly!
Her Broadway debut was in the 1980 production of 42nd Street as a replacement for Annie Reilly. Leavel was in the original Broadway cast of Crazy for You (1992) as Tess Parker and an understudy for Polly Baker.
In 1999, she played the roles of Mabel and Mrs. Lydia Bixby in The Civil War. Leavel returned to the Broadway revival of 42nd Street in 2001 as a standby for Maggie Jones and Dorothy Brock, eventually playing the latter.
She played the starring role of Beatrice Stockwell in The Drowsy Chaperone, for which she helped to create the character's backstory and which she referred to as "a compilation of a lot of different women in theatre." For this role, she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 60th Tony Awards and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.
Leavel succeeded Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher in the Broadway production of Young Frankenstein on July 15, 2008, and remained with the show until it closed on January 4, 2009. She starred in the world premiere of the burlesque-rich musical Minsky's in Los Angeles, which ran at the Center Theatre in the Ahmanson Theatre from January 21-March 1, 2009; the musical also starred her former Young Frankenstein co-stars Christopher Fitzgerald and Sarrah Strimel.
In 2009, Leavel starred in a stage reading of Dylan Glatthorn's Republic with Lauren Worsham and Kelli Barrett. She also starred in the staged reading of Vincent Crapelli's Otherwise, with Karen Ziemba and Laura Bonarrigo-Koffman.
She starred as Donna Sheridan in the Broadway production of Mamma Mia!, succeeding Carolee Carmello in the role on September 22, 2009, and leaving the show on October 10, 2010.
Leavel starred as Emily Hobbs in Elf the Musical on Broadway. The production opened November 14, 2010, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and ran through January 2, 2011. Following Elf, she appeared in the Broadway production of Baby It's You!, which began previews on March 26, 2011, and closed on September 4, 2011. Leavel earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 65th Tony Awards for her performance of Florence Greenberg in Baby It's You!
In November 2013, she appeared Off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays. In January and February 2012, she starred in a limited run of Boeing-Boeing at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.
Leavel was cast as Bea in the musical Something Rotten! and began the workshop/reading for it, held in 2014. Before the musical opened on Broadway (in March 2015) she was replaced by Heidi Blickenstaff because "the writers decided that the character needed to be younger so she could become pregnant, a key plot point."
In 2014, Leavel starred in the world premiere of the musical Dog and Pony at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego. She starred in the musical The Prom which opened on Broadway in November 2018. For this, she was nominated for the 2019 Tony Award for Best Performance by Leading Actress in a Musical at the 73rd Tony Awards.
In 2022, she starred as Miranda Priestly in the Chicago world premiere production of The Devil Wears Prada. In 2024, Manhattan Theatre Club announced she would join Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga in the 2025 Broadway mounting of the Stephen Sondheim musical celebration Old Friends. Prior to its Broadway bow at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Old Friends was presented by Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group from February 8 through March 9, 2025. In the summer of 2026, she played the titular role in Hello, Dolly! at the Ogunquit Playhouse.Rabinowitz, Chloe Photos: Beth Leavel, Matt Doyle, Ruthie Ann Miles and More in HELLO, DOLLY! at Ogunquit Playhouse BroadwayWorld, June 22, 2026
Personal life She is married to fellow actor Adam Heller.
Credits
Broadway theatre YearTitleRoleVenue198542nd StreetAnnie ReillySt. James Theatre1992Crazy for YouTess ParkerShubert Theatre1994Show BoatEllieGeorge Gershwin Theatre1999The Civil WarMrs. Lydia Bixby/MabelSt. James Theatre200142nd StreetDorothy BrockFord Center for the Performing Arts2006The Drowsy ChaperoneBeatrice StockwellMarquis Theatre2008Young FrankensteinFrau BlucherHilton Theatre2009Mamma Mia!Donna SheridanWinter Garden Theatre2010ElfEmily HobbsAl Hirschfeld Theatre2011Baby It's You!Florence GreenbergBroadhurst Theatre2017BandstandMrs. June AdamsBernard B. Jacobs Theatre2018The PromDee Dee AllenLongacre Theatre2023Gutenberg! The Musical!The Guest ProducerJames Earl Jones Theatre2024LempickaThe Baroness Cara Carolina Kuffner de DiószeghLongacre Theatre2025Stephen Sondheim's Old FriendsPerformerSamuel J. Friedman Theatre
Film and television Year Title Role Notes 2004 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Mom Episode: "Silver Lining" 2009 ER Amy Taylor Episode: "And in the End..." The Unusuals Ellen Baker Episode: "The E.I.D." 2011–2012 Submissions Only Val Reilly 2 episodes 2014 This Is Where I Leave You Renee 2020 The Walking Dead: World Beyond Dr. K Episode: "Brave" 2021 The Bite Petra Bresser Episode: "The First Wave" 2022 Ghosts of Christmas Always Susan Kraine Television film
Podcasts Year Title Voice role 2020–21 In Strange Woods Sandra
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult 2006Tony AwardBest Featured Actress in a MusicalThe Drowsy ChaperoneDrama Desk AwardOutstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Featured Actress in a Musical 2011Tony AwardBest Actress in a MusicalBaby It's You!Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actress in a MusicalOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Actress in a Musical 2019Tony AwardBest Actress in a MusicalThe PromDrama Desk AwardOutstanding Actress in a MusicalDrama League AwardDistinguished PerformanceOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Actress in a Musical
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