Marcia Lewis (August 18, 1938 – December 21, 2010) was an American character actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Chicago and Grease) and twice for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Chicago and Rags).
Life and career Lewis was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio.Official website marcialewis.com, retrieved January 25, 2010 She earned her RN from Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in Cincinnati in 1959 and worked as a registered nurse at the University of Cincinnati Hospital (Ohio) and Mount Sinai Hospital (NYC). "Marcia Lewis biography", filmreference.com, retrieved January 25, 2010Interview, Spotlight on Marcia Lewis, talkinbroadway.com, retrieved January 25, 2010
Stage and television Lewis made her Broadway debut in the original production of Hello, Dolly!, taking over the role of Ernestina. Additional theater credits include The Time of Your Life (1969), Annie, taking over the role of Miss Hannigan in April 1981, Rags (1986) (nominee, Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical), Roza (1987), Orpheus Descending with Vanessa Redgrave (1989), and the 1990 revival of Fiddler on the Roof as Golde. Lewis appeared in the 1994 revival of Grease as Miss Lynch, and was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She appeared as the Matron in the 1996 revival of Chicago. For her work, she received nominations for the Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.Marcia Lewis Broadway credits, ibdb.com, retrieved January 25, 2010
She appeared at the Off-Broadway Theatre of the Zanies in An Impudent Wolf (1965), the Players Theatre in Who's Who Baby? (1968), and Playwrights Horizons in Romance Language in 1984 and When She Danced in 1990.Marcia Lewis profile at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Lewis toured in Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider and appeared in Chicago at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, for three months. Her television credits include guest appearances on The Bob Newhart Show (1975), Baretta (1975), The Bionic Woman (1976), Happy Days (1977, 1979), the TV movie When She Was Bad (1979) and Kate and Allie (1988).Marcia Lewis IMDb profile
Performing and personal life As a singer, Lewis performed in most of the leading cabarets and supper clubs in Manhattan, including Rainbow & Stars, Upstairs at the Duplex, Upstairs at the Downstairs, Grande Finale, Reno Sweeney's, Freddy's Eighty-Eights, Town Hall, The Village Gate, and the Russian Tea Room. Lewis also appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall.Cabaret listings , marcialewis.com, retrieved January 25, 2010. Lewis' solo album Nowadays (1998), a collection of showtunes and standards recorded with the Mark Hummel Quartet, is available on the Original Cast Records label.
Lewis married her second husband, Fred D. Bryan, a Nashville financial adviser, on June 24, 2001.Shattuck, Kathryn. "Weddings: Vows;Marcia Lewis, Fred Bryan" The New York Times, July 8, 2001, Section 9; Society Desk; p. 9 Lewis died on December 21, 2010, at her home in Brentwood, Tennessee, of cancer, aged 72. Bryan survived her."Two-Time Tony Award Nominee Marcia Lewis Dies at 72", broadway.com, 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
Stage YearTitleRoleVenueRef.1965An Impudent WolfGrandmaOff-Broadway, Theatre of the Zanies"Broadway Beat TV Special: In Memory of Marcia Lewis", broadwayworld.com, 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2025-07-18.1966Hello, Dolly!ErnestinaBroadway, St. James Theatre1968Who's Who Baby?PerformerOff-Broadway, Players' Theatre1969The Time of Your LifeLoreneBroadway, Vivian Beaumont Theatre1981AnnieMiss HanniganBroadway, Alvin Theatre1984Romance LanguageEmma Stebbins, Ellen Emerson, and a Dancehall Girl Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons1986RagsRachel HalpernBroadway, Mark Hellinger Theatre1987RozaMadame KatzBroadway, Royale Theatre1989Orpheus DescendingNurse PorterBroadway, Neil Simon Theatre1990Fiddler on the RoofGoldeBroadway, Gershwin TheatreWhen She DancedMaryOff-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons1994GreaseMiss LynchBroadway, Eugene O'Neill Theatre1995Big City RhythmPerformerOff-Broadway, Triad Theatre1996ChicagoMatron 'Mama' MortonOff-Broadway, New York City CenterBroadway, Richard Rodgers Theatre1997U.S. National Tour2004AnnieMiss HanniganU.S. National Tour
Awards and nominations AwardYearCategoryWorkResultRef.Tony Awards1994Best Featured Actress in a MusicalGrease"Marcia Lewis (Performer)", playbill.com. Retrieved 2025-07-18.1997ChicagoOuter Critics Circle AwardsBest Featured Actress in a MusicalDrama Desk Awards1987Outstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalRags1997Chicago
References
External links Official website