Celia Keenan-Bolger

Celia Keenan-Bolger

Celia Keenan-Bolger is an American actress and singer.

Biography

Early life and family

She is an alum of the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and a graduate of the University of Michigan's musical theatre performance program. Celia is one of three children, all of whom are involved in the performing arts. Her brother, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, also graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in musical theatre in 2007. Already a Broadway veteran, Andrew joined the national touring company of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in the Fall of 2007. Her sister, Maggie Keenan-Bolger, who wrote the noted play From the Inside, Out, studied theatre and gender and women's studies at Oberlin College and graduated in 2006.

Career

Keenan-Bolger's regional credits include Johanna in Sweeney Todd at the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration in 2002, along with productions at the Goodman Theatre, TheatreWorks and Sundance Theatre Program. In 2003, she originated the role of Clara Johnson in the pre-Broadway world premiere of the Craig Lucas/Adam Guettel musical The Light in the Piazza at Seattle's Intiman Theatre and Chicago's Goodman Theatre. She has performed Off-Broadway in Kindertransport, Little Fish and Summer of '42.

In 2005, Keenan-Bolger made her Broadway debut starring in William Finn's musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, where she originated the role of Olive Ostrovsky. For this performance, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She had appeared in the musical from its beginning at the Barrington Stage Company (Sheffield, Massachusetts) in July 2004, to the Off-Broadway production at the Second Stage Theatre in January through March 2005. With the original Broadway cast, she returned to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for a four-week limited engagement run at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles from May through June 2007.

She has also appeared on Broadway in the revival of Les Misérables as street waif Éponine from October 2006 to April 2007, for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Keenan-Bolger appeared in the Playwrights Horizons production of the new musical Saved with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and a book by John Dempsey and Rinne Groff in 2008. She recently appeared in Bachelorette at the Second Stage Theatre and Adam Bock's A Small Fire, opposite Michele Pawk and Reed Birney. In 2011, she starred in the New York Theatre Workshop production of Peter and the Starcatcher, a stage adaptation of the 2004 best-selling children's novel of a similar name. She received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance as Molly.

Keenan-Bolger recently starred as Mary Flynn in the Encores! production of Merrily We Roll Along, which played at the New York City Center from February 8 through 19, 2012. She will reprise her role of Molly in the Broadway production of Peter and the Starcatcher, which will begin performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 28, 2012.

She has sung in concert at the Lincoln Center American Songbook Series and at the Michigan Theatre with Audra McDonald. Keenan-Bolger performed as Martha in the 2005 The Secret Garden World AIDS Day benefit concert in 2005. She appeared on the concept cast album of Bright Lights, Big City. She also participated in a reading of Shrek the Musical as Princess Fiona in 2007.

External links

• Celia Keenan-Bolger at the Internet Broadway Database
• Internet Off-Broadway Database listing
• Confetti The first unofficial fan site

Preceded by 2003-2004 Winners	Recipient of Theatre World Award for portraying Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 2004–2005 Season with Christina Applegate, Ashlie Atkinson, Hank Azaria, Gordon Clapp, Conor Donovan, Dan Fogler, Heather Goldenhersh, Carla Gugino, Jenn Harris, Cheyenne Jackson & Tyler Maynard	Succeeded by 2005-2006 Winners
Preceded by originated role	Portraying Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee May 2, 2005 – September 17, 2006	Succeeded by Jessica-Snow Wilson
	Eponine in the 2006 Revival Cast of Les Misérables October 2006 – April 2007	Succeeded by Mandy Bruno