Mary Beth Peil
Mary Beth Peil | |
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Peabody Awards | |
Born | Davenport, Iowa, U.S. | June 25, 1940
Education | Northwestern University |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1962–present |
Mary Beth Peil (
After her Broadway debut, Peil has remained a stage actress in musicals and plays. She is the recipient of an
In an Opera News interview in 2019, Peil stated, "Opera is big and scary. You constantly strive for perfection. I think I always had my fingers crossed every time I sang in opera. On Broadway, you do eight shows a week, and there is no such thing as perfection. Every night, you try to find something new and true, perfect or not. Film and television is an intimate medium. You are communicating to one viewer instead of thousands. It is more of a physical and mental adjustment. The emotions are the same."[1]
Early life
Peil (pronounced peel) was born in 1940 in Davenport, Iowa.[2] She trained as a soprano at Northwestern University under Lotte Lehmann, and gave her senior recital on April 9, 1962.[3] Other influential teachers in her development in the university's music department included Robert Gay, the director of the opera program, and Ewald Nolte, who taught courses in music theory and composition and conducted a university chorus in which Peil performed.[4] While a college student she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Career
Career as an opera and concert soprano: 1962–1982
In her senior year, Peil performed the role of Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata in a student production directed by Gay at Northwestern; a performance which was attended by Boris Goldovsky.[4] This led to an invitation to audition for Goldovsky's opera company for an upcoming national tour of that opera. She was offered a contract, and moved to New York City in order to take that job.[4] She made her professional debut as Violetta in the Fall of 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater.[4]
In 1964 Peil won two major singing contests, the
Peil made her opera debut with the MONC in September 1965 as Clorinda in Gioachino Rossini's La Cenerentola; going on to perform that role in 72 cities on a nine-month national tour with the MONC through May 1966.[6][1] She also performed the role of Micaëla in Georges Bizet's Carmen with the MONC that first season.[7] She toured nationally with the company again in its second season as Susanna in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Mimì in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème from September 1966 through May 1967; with periodic breaks during that period.[1][8][9]
In 1965 Peil was the featured soprano soloist in a concert honoring Risë Stevens with the
Peil performed as a chamber musician during the late 1960s and 1970s, often in conjunction with her then husband, the clarinetist Jerry Kirkbride. Both were members of the Divario Chamber Ensemble in 1969 and 1970.
In 1971, Peil originated the role of Alma in the world premiere of Lee Hoiby's opera adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play Summer and Smoke, at the Minnesota Opera.[21] She performed it again with the Chicago Opera Theater when it was broadcast on television in 1982 (based on a 1980 performance).[22] She returned to the Minnesota Opera several more times. With that company she portrayed Leonora in the United States premiere of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade in 1972.[23]
Transition to stage actress: 1983–1991
Peil made a transition into musical theatre with the Minnesota Opera, performing the title role of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate in 1983.[24] Of that experience Peil stated, "That was when the light bulb went on. Doing Kiss Me, Kate with my beloved John Reardon made me realize I was a singing actor, not an acting singer."[25]
She soon found herself on
In 1986 Peil starred in
Career on screen and stage: 1992–2003
In 1993 Peil moved back to New York City after divorcing Jerry Kirkbride with whom she had raised two children, Gwyneth and Michael, in
Peil continued in the theatre while branching out into television and film. In 1992 she portrayed the beggar woman in
Peil won an Obie Award in 1995 for her work in three non-musical plays off-Broadway: Paul Rudnick's The Naked Truth (as Nan, 1994 at the WPA Theater),[41][42] A. R. Gurney's A Cheever Evening (as Peaches, 1994 with Playwrights Horizons),[43] and Craig Lucas's Missing Persons (1995, as Addie with the Atlantic Theater Company).[44]).[28][45] She returned to the role of Nan in a revision of The Naked Truth, now retitled The Naked Eye, at Harvard University's American Repertory Theater in 1996.[46] In 1996 and 1997, she toured in Gurney's play, Sylvia with Charles Kimbrough and Stephanie Zimbalist. In 1997 she appeared in the celebrated revival of George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner's June Moon at the Ohio Theater in SoHo.[47] That same year she portrayed Hesione in Pierre de Marivaux's The Triumph of Love at the Yale Repertory Theatre (YRT).[48]
Peil played evangelist
Recent career: 2004–present
After Dawson's Creek ended in 2003, Peil portrayed Helen Devlin in Frank Oz's 2004 film The Stepford Wives with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, and Bette Midler. Her other recent film credits include Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers (2006), the thriller Mirrors (2008), Maladies (2012), Contest (2013), Collateral Beauty (2016), The Song of Sway Lake (2018), and Here and Now (2018). From 2009 to 2016, she played Jackie Florrick, the mother of Chris Noth's character Peter Florrick, on the CBS drama The Good Wife.[54] In 2019 she portrayed the recurring role of Gwendolina Ferrari on NBC's The Village and in 2020 she portrayed the recurring role of Loretta Lacy on The CW's Katy Keene. In 2021 she appeared in the role of Martha Graham in the Netflix series Halston.[55]
On the stage, Peil portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt in the 2004 off-Broadway revival of Michael John LaChiusa First Lady Suite at The Connelly Theater.[56] That same year she portrayed Juliana Tesman in Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler with the New York Theatre Workshop under the direction of Ivo van Hove;[57] and performed the role of Mrs. Mallard in Jeffrey Hatcher and Bill Russell's musical Lucky Duck at the Old Globe Theatre.[58] In 2005 she performed the role of Rose in Harold Pinter's The Room with the Atlantic Theater Company (ATC).[59] In 2006 she created the role of Clare in the world premiere of Joan Vail Thorne's The Things You Least Expect at the George Street Playhouse.[60] That same year she starred as Celeste Albaret in the world premiere of Mary Zimmerman's monodrama M. Proust with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.[61] In 2007 she performed the role of Ann in Gurney's The Cocktail Hour at the Long Wharf Theatre.[62]
In 2008 Peil appeared as the Old Lady and Blair Daniels in the
In 2013 Peil starred alongside
Peil next joined the cast of the musical Anastasia playing the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the grandmother of the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Based on the 1997 animated film, Anastasia has music and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and a book by Terrence McNally. The musical began as a workshop in 2015, it then had out of town tryouts in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2016 before eventually opening on Broadway in 2017. Peil was nominated for a Tony Award,[73] a Drama Desk Award[74] and an Outer Critics Circle Award[75] for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role. In 2019 she portrayed Mama Mizner in the Encores! revival of Stephen Sondheim's Road Show.[76]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Jersey Girl | Day Care Center Teacher | |
1995 | Reckless | Bartender | |
1995 | Comfortably Numb | Emily Best | |
1998 | Number One | Lana | Short film |
1999 | The Odd Couple II | Felice | |
1999 | Advice from a Caterpillar | Homeless Woman | |
2004 | The Stepford Wives | Helen Devlin | |
2006 | Shortbus | Ann | |
2006 | The Caretakers | Olivia | Short film |
2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Mrs. Bradley | |
2007 | The List | Daisy Stokes | |
2008 | Old Days | Lillian | Short film |
2008 | Mirrors | Anna Esseker | |
2010 | The Locksmith | Celine | |
2011 | Small, Beautifully Moving Parts | Marjorie Sparks | |
2012 | Maladies | Blind Woman | |
2013 | Contest | "Gran" Angela Maria Tucci | |
2016 | Collateral Beauty | Mrs. Yardsham | |
2017 | The Song of Sway Lake | Charlie Sway | |
2018 | Here and Now | Dr. Marianne Holt |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Law & Order | Dr. Emma Hiltz | Episode: "Family Values" |
1998–2003 | Dawson's Creek | Evelyn "Grams" Ryan | 66 episodes |
2001 | The Job | Mrs. Peg Bermance | Episode: "Massage" |
2003 | The Reagans | Edith Davis | Television movie |
2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Deb Boyd | Episode: "Alien" |
2009–2016 | The Good Wife | Jackie Florrick | 49 episodes |
2009 | Fringe | Jessica Warren | Episode: "The No-Brainer" |
2011 | American Masters | Mrs. Carr (voice) | Episode: "John Muir in the New World" |
2012 | Submissions Only | Beverly Wilcox | Episode: "The Growing Interconnectedness" |
2019 | The Village | Gwendolina Ferrari | 5 episodes |
2020 | Katy Keene | Loretta Lacy | 4 episodes |
2021 | Halston | Martha Graham | Episode: "Critics" |
Theater
Year | Play | Role | Theatre |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | The King and I | Anna Leonowens | Broadway Theatre, Broadway |
1987 | Birds of Paradise | Marjorie | Promenade Theatre, off-Broadway |
1988 | The Sound of Music | Elsa Schraeder | regional tour |
1989 | Cymbeline | Ghost Mother | The Public Theater, off-Broadway |
1991 | Four Short Operas | Mary/Woman/Woman/Madge | Playwrights Horizons, off-Broadway |
1992 | Sweeney Todd | Beggar Woman | Paper Mill Playhouse, regional |
1993 | Assassins | Sara Jane Moore | San Jose Civic, regional |
1994 | Box, The Sandbox, and Finding the Sun |
Edmee | Signature Theatre Company, off-Broadway |
1994 | The Naked Truth | Nan Bemiss | WPA Theatre, off-Broadway |
1994–1995 | A Cheever Evening | Performer | Playwrights Horizons, off-Broadway |
1995 | Missing Persons | Addie | Atlantic Theater Company, off-Broadway |
1995 | Sylvia | Kate (Replacement) | New York City Center Stage I, off-Broadway |
1998–1999 | As Thousands Cheer | Performer | Greenwich House, off-off-Broadway |
2002 | Sweeney Todd | Beggar Woman | The Kennedy Center, regional |
2003 | Nine | Guido's Mother | Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway |
2003–2004 | Frame 312 | Lynette (1990's) | Atlantic Theater Company, off-Broadway |
2004 | First Lady Suite | Eleanor Roosevelt | Connelly Theatre, off-off-Broadway |
2004 | Lucky Duck | Various | Old Globe Theatre, regional |
2004 | Hedda Gabler | Aunt Julia | New York Theatre Workshop, off-Broadway |
2005–2006 | Celebration and The Room | Rose | Atlantic Theater Company, off-Broadway |
2007 | 33 Variations | Katherine Brandt | Arena Stage, regional |
2008 | Sunday in the Park with George | Old Lady/Blair Daniels | Studio 54, Broadway |
2010–2011 | Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | Pepa's Concierge | Belasco Theatre, Broadway |
2011–2012 | Follies | Solange LaFitte | Marquis Theatre, Broadway |
2012 | The Morini Strad | Erica | 59E59 Theaters, off-Broadway |
2012 | Follies | Solange LaFitte | Ahmanson Theatre, regional |
2012 | Harper Regan | Allison Wooley | Atlantic Theater Company, off-Broadway |
2013–2014 | Domesticated | Shrink | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater , off-Broadway
|
2014 | The Threepenny Opera | Mrs. Peachum | Atlantic Theater Company, off-Broadway |
2015 | Dying For It | Serafima Ilyinichna | Atlantic Theater Company, off-Broadway |
2015 | The Visit | Matilde Schell | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway |
2016–2017 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Madame de Rosemonde | Booth Theatre, Broadway |
2017–2018 | Anastasia | Dowager Empress | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |
2019 | Macbeth | Duncan/Old Woman | Classic Stage Company, off-Broadway |
2019 | Road Show | Mama Mizner | New York City Center, Encores! |
References
- ^ a b c d Martin Bernheimer (August 2006). "The Not-So-Grand Tour". Opera News. Vol. 71, no. 2. pp. 40–45.
- ^ "N. U. Gard, Baritone, Wins Met's National Council Auditions". Chicago Tribune. March 23, 1964. p. A3.
- ^ "Soprano in Recital". Chicago Tribune. April 7, 1962. p. w6.
- ^ a b c d "Mary Beth Peil". Alumni Spotlight. Northwestern University. March 24, 2021.
- ^ "Iowa Baritone Wins First Prize in Met Auditions; Gets Contract and Award of $2,000 – Four Others Are Chosen by Judges". The New York Times. March 23, 1964.
- ^ Robert J. Landry (November 10, 1965). "Legitimate: Met's Road Opera in on Wingding". Variety. Vol. 240, no. 12. pp. 77, 80.
- ^ Harold C. Schonberg (November 6, 1965). "Met Troupe Sings Bizet's Carmen". The New York Times. p. 18.
- ^ "Legitimate: Met's Touring Juniors Use Indianapolis as 'Home Base' for Next Five Years". Variety. Vol. 244, no. 5. September 21, 1966. p. 64.
- ^ Allen Hughes (January 16, 1967). "Met Road Troupe Sings 2 Bohèmes". The New York Times. p. 26.
- ^ "'Allegro Ball' Will Recall Mozart Era". Los Angeles Times. February 17, 1965. p. D4.
- ^ Raymond Ericson (February 28, 1965). "The Magic Flute Is Staged in Wood". The New York Times. p. 91.
- ^ Raymond Ericson (June 18, 1966). "Music: Moravian Singing". The New York Times. p. 16.
- ^ Donal Henahan (March 19, 1968). "Voice Recital Given by Mary Beth Peil". The New York Times.
- ^ "4 More to Make Debuts with City Opera in Spring". The New York Times. January 31, 1972.
- ^ Musical America: International directory of the performing arts. 1970. p. 189.
- ^ "Bicentennial Concert". The New Yorker. Vol. 51 (part 7). p. 12.
- ^ David J. Wechsler (2012). A History of the New York Flute Club (doctoral dissertation). City University of New York.
- ^ "Bach's Flute Music Played by Kraber". The New York Times. December 1, 1972.
- ^ Joan Reinthaler (January 6, 1973). "Singers in Harmony". The Washington Post. p. E2.
- ^ Donal Henahan (January 12, 1977). "Too Much Is Plenty at Ginsburg Concert". The New York Times.
- ^ Raymond Ericson (June 25, 1971). "Summer and Smoke Bows as an Opera". The New York Times.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. "TV: Summer And Smoke, an Opera" The New York Times, June 23, 1982
- ^ Allen Hughes (June 25, 1972). "Opera: Belated Debut for Maskarade". The New York Times.
- ^ "Minnesota Opera's Kate Has Women at the Helm". Variety. Vol. 311, no. 4. May 25, 1983. p. 83.
- ^ Louise T. Guinther (August 2019). "Liner Notes: Mary Beth Peil". Opera News. Vol. 84, no. 2.
- ^ Nan Robertson (January 31, 1986). "Brynner's Friends Reminisce at Actor's Memorial Service". The New York Times.
- ^ Samuel G. Freedman (May 7, 1985). "Two More Tony Categories Dropped". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Entertainment Awards Database at L.A. Times
- ^ Alvin Kline (February 25, 1990). "Theater; King and I Is Back Where It Began". The New York Times.
- ^ Alvin Klein (January 19, 1986). "Theater; Lincoln Makes a Bold Debut Into Professional Theater". The New York Times.
- ISBN 0-573-68189-9
- ^ Stephen Holden (February 24, 1988). "The Pop Life". The New York Times.
- ^ Frank Rich (June 1, 1989). "Review/Theater; Fantasy Cymbeline Set Long After Shakespeare". The New York Times.
- ^ Mel Gussow (June 9, 1991). "Review/Theater; Several Slices of Life in Festival of One-Acts". The New York Times.
- ^ Mel Gussow (October 23, 1991). "Critic's Notebook; Examining the Dark Flower That Was Weimar Culture". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Kaufman, Joanne (December 2, 2016). "An Actress at Home on the Upper West Side". The New York Times.
- ^ Alvin Klein (November 15, 1992). "Theater; Sweeney Todd, in All Its Musical Power". The New York Times.
- ^ Mel Gussow (October 7, 1992). "Theatre in Review". The New York Times.
- ^ Mel Gussow (April 13, 1993). "Reviews/Theater; Looking At Guilt, Present And Past". The New York Times.
- ^ David Richards (February 10, 1994). "Review/Theater; 3 Albee One-Acters About People Boxed In". The New York Times.
- ^ Vincent Canby (June 26, 1994). "Sunday View; And the Truth Set Her Free (Albeit Naked)". The New York Times.
- ^ Dyer, Richard (June 1996). "The Bold Soprano: After Leaving Opera for Stage, Mary Beth Peil Gets 'Naked'". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Vincent Canby (October 16, 1994). "Sunday View; The Evening Is Both Cheever's And Gurney's". The New York Times.
- ^ Ben Brantley (February 2, 1995). "Theater Review; Family Relationships, Both Real and Spectral". The New York Times.
- ^ 1995 Obie Awards at VillageVoice.com
- ^ Ben Brantley (June 29, 1996). "Theater Review; A Character Adds Energy, And a Play Picks Up Bite". The New York Times.
- ^ Vincent Canby (January 26, 1997). "June Moon Is a Boon, With Its Own Kick". The New York Times.
- ^ Alvin Klein (February 2, 1997). "Imbued With Love, Imbued With Effort". The New York Times.
- ^ Vincent Canby (June 21, 1998). "Theater; A Lost Theatrical Form Returns With a Smile". The New York Times.
- ^ Alvin Klein (May 16, 1999). "Theater; Among a Smart Set, More Bad Manners". The New York Times.
- ^ Ben Brantley (May 15, 2002). "Theater Review; Adding Love To the Pies' Time-Tested Recipe". The New York Times.
- ^ Robin Pogrebin (May 30, 2003). "A Sisterhood of Self-Effacing Stars". The New York Times.
- ^ Bruce Weber (December 17, 2003). "Theater Review; The Kennedy Assassination as the Root of America's Ills". The New York Times.
- ^ Jan Hoffman (April 29, 2011). "The Good Wife and Its Women". The New York Times.
- ^ Maureen Lee Lenker (May 14, 2021). "See the cast of Halston and their real-life counterparts". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Ben Brantley (April 6, 2004). "Theater Review; Why the Caged First Ladies Sing". The New York Times.
- ^ Charles Isherwood (September 22, 2004). "A Hedda for Self-Absorbed Modern Times". The New York Times.
- ^ Joel Hirschhorn (July 20, 2004). "Lucky Duck". Variety.
- ^ Ben Brantley (December 6, 2005). "Lifting the Art of Name-Dropping to a Cosmic Level". The New York Times.
- ^ Naomi Siegel (October 14, 2006). "A Widow With an Agenda and a Young New Boyfriend". The New York Times.
- ^ Steven Oxman (June 20, 2006). "M. Proust". Variety.
- ^ Sylviane Gold (January 28, 2007). "An America Where Much Was Left Unsaid". The New York Times.
- ^ Ben Brantley (February 22, 2008). "Down by the Blue Purple Yellow Red Water". The New York Times.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sherie Rene Scott Cast in Broadway's Women on the Verge" Archived November 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Playbill, July 26, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Diva Talk: Chatting with Follies Star Mary Beth Peil" Archived December 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Playbill, September 2, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew."The Right Girls: Kennedy Center Follies, With Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, Elaine Paige, Begins Broadway Previews" Archived September 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Playbill, August 7, 2011
- ^ "The Morini Strad". Retrieved June 30, 2012.
- ^ Ben Brantley (October 10, 2012). "Sometimes You Just Need to Get Away". The New York Times.
- ^ Ben Brantley (November 4, 2013). "After Extramarital Activities, Politician Looks for the Words". The New York Times.
- ^ Charles Isherwood (April 7, 2014). "Dogs and Scoundrels, Well Dressed". The New York Times.
- ^ Charles Isherwood (January 8, 2015). "A Martyr for the Cause, if Only He Could Pick One". The New York Times.
- ^ Ben Brantley (April 23, 2015). "Review: Chita Rivera Stars in Kander and Ebb's The Visit". The New York Times.
- ^ "The 2017 Tony Awards – And the Nominees Are... Complete List! Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and Hello, Dolly! Lead Pack". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ "2017 Drama Desk Awards Presented June 4". Playbill. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ "Outer Critics Circle Nominations Announced: Hello, Dolly!, Anastasia, Groundhog Day and More!". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Green, Jesse (July 25, 2019). "Review: Sondheim's Bumpy Road Show, Now at the End of the Line". The New York Times.
External links
- Media related to Mary Beth Peil at Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Beth Peil at IMDb
- Mary Beth Peil at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mary Beth Peil at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Biography from American Repertory Theater with photo
- Photos from Summer and Smoke