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Lindsay Pearce

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Lindsay Pearce
Birth nameLindsay Heather Pearce
Born (1991-04-30) April 30, 1991 (age 33)
Modesto, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active2011–present

Lindsay Heather Pearce[1] (born April 30, 1991)[2] is an American actress and singer. Pearce is best known for being one of the runners-up on The Glee Project, which gave her a guest starring role on the TV show Glee. In February 2020, Pearce took over the role of Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked.

Early life

Pearce was born in Modesto, California and is an adopted child. She has starred in amateur shows since the age of thirteen. For the first six months of her life she was deaf, and appreciates her ear for music because of this.[3] Lindsay has also been in theatre since the age of 6.

She is the daughter of Carol Pearce née Clark. She is the sister of former professional soccer player Heath Pearce.[4]

Career

Television

The Glee Project

In early 2011, Pearce auditioned for The Glee Project, a singing/acting reality show where the winner would receive a seven-episode arc on the third season of Glee. Throughout the show, her identity became "the theater girl", mostly because the producers and other participants of the show felt like she was always enacting, instead of trying to show her true feelings, even when asked. She reached the show's finale, but did not win the competition; however, the producers gave her and the other runner-up, Alex Newell, each a two-episode arc on Glee.

Glee

In the third-season premiere of Glee, Pearce was introduced as Harmony, an ambitious and talented singer who awes characters Kurt and Rachel when they watch her and her group sing a mash-up of "Anything Goes" from the musical Anything Goes and "Anything You Can Do" from the musical Annie Get Your Gun. This first episode featuring her character aired September 20, 2011.[5] Her debut was widely acclaimed by critics such as TVLine's Michael Slezak, who said Harmony was "brilliantly brought to life" by Pearce, and Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club, who wrote that she "may be the best new character ever".[6][7] The mash-up was released as a single for digital download after the episode aired.[8] She appeared for a second time in the eighth episode, "Hold On to Sixteen", in which Harmony was the lead singer of a different group, the Unitards, a rival show choir competing against the show's main glee club, New Directions. In the episode, she sings "Buenos Aires" from the musical Evita, which was also released as a single. Pearce was complimented for her rendition by Billboard's Rae Votta, who said she was a "fantastic singer".[9] Harmony tells Kurt that she is a sophomore, leaving open the possibility that she could return to the show in future seasons.[10]

The "Anything Goes" / "Anything You Can Do" mash-up was widely acclaimed. Respers France named Pearce's performance the best moment of the episode, and found that the character positively reminded her of "Glee of old".[11] The song was also a favorite of Lee's, who wrote that the intensity of the actress was perfectly matched to the character's disposition.[12] West, Slezak and Benigno gave the performance an "A"; the former called it an "outstanding rendition" which "felt like it belonged on a big stage or in a big-screen musical",[13] and the latter two praised her vocal talent, which Benigno deemed unequalled on Glee.[6][14] Futterman and Bell found Harmony a credible rival to Rachel vocally, and eagerly anticipated future competition between them.[15][16] Urban called Pearce's performance merely "serviceable". Though she felt her acting was a weak point, she compared her favorably to season two guest star Charice and praised her vocals.[17]

Other

Pearce appeared in an episode of Drop Dead Diva on October 20, 2013, on Lifetime channel. She played the role of a television star who was trying to prevent an illicit topless photo of her from going public.

Theatre

The day after The Glee Project finale aired, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Pearce had been cast to star as Snow White in El Portal Theatre's production of the musical A Snow White Christmas. Marina Sirtis co-starred as the Wicked Queen, and Neil Patrick Harris in the onscreen role of the Magic Mirror. The Lythgoe Family Productions show ran from November 30, 2011 through December 18, 2011.[18] Bobbie Whiteman of Variety wrote that Pearce as "a very sassy Snow belts out Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' in true Broadway fashion", and that "her voice blends beautifully with Bergen's", the show's prince.[19] TheaterMania's Jonas Schwartz called the production "rather endearing, thanks mostly to The Glee Project's Lindsay Pearce in the title role". He added, "Pearce has a wonderful presence, an earthy charm, and her belting voice is used to fine effect on Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' and Katy Perry's 'Fireworks'."[20]

She next starred in the role of Cathy in Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last Five Years at the Brauntex Theatre in New Braunfels, Texas. There were three performances, on January 6 and 7, 2012. Deborah Martin of the San Antonio Express-News wrote of Pearce and co-star Alex Trevino that they "give charismatic, vocally assured performances, fully capturing the relationship and their characters' inner lives. Highlights include Pearce's pain-drenched 'Still Hurting', tender 'I'm Part of That' and witty 'Audition Sequence'". She also noted that "when they actively share the stage, Pearce and Trevino show off great chemistry".[21]

Ten days later, Pearce had been cast as Wendla Bergman, the female lead in the musical Spring Awakening, which was presented in Los Angeles by Over the Moon Productions. The show opened on March 16, 2012, and ended its run on April 22, 2012.[1]

She then starred in the 2013 Los Angeles revival of the Damon Intrabartolo–Jon Hartmere pop opera Bare. Beginning on September 5, Pearce took on the lead role of Ivy for a limited three week engagement, and subsequently won BroadwayWorld LA's "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" award.

Since 2013 Pearce has also appeared in various roles in the For the Record series, in both For the Record: Baz Luhrmann and For the Record: Tarantino.

On April 9, 2015, it was announced that Pearce would be playing a role in the immersive glory|struck production of American Idiot.[22] It was later announced that she would play Whatshername.[23] Performances began on May 15 and the show closed on June 7.

Pearce made her Broadway debut in 2020, in the lead role of Elphaba in Wicked.[24] She replaced Hannah Corneau on February 25, 2020.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2011 The Glee Project Herself Contestant; runner-up
2011 Glee Harmony 2 episodes
2013 Drop Dead Diva Ashley Episode: "One Shot"
2013 Through the Woods Jeanne Lewis Short film
2013 Mantervention Monica
2013 Face Amy Short film
2014 Grey's Anatomy Holly Tichener Episode: "Risk"[25]
2015 The Wedding Ringer Alexandra Plylow
2016 Recovery Road Rebecca Granger 7 episodes[26]

References

  1. ^ a b Blank, Matthew (March 5, 2012). "PHOTO CALL: Meet the Cast of L.A. Spring Awakening, With Janel Parrish and "Glee" Star Lindsay Pearce". Playbill. Playbill. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  2. ^ "Lindsay Heather Pearce on Instagram: "Twenty-four feels warm... @recoveryroadseries #tagteam"". Instagram. April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Lindsay Pearce (Glee Project)". Pop Tower. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  4. ^ Hoppes, Lynn. "'Glee' actress sister to Major League Soccer player". ESPN. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  5. ^ Slezak, Michael (August 25, 2011). "Glee Project's Lindsay Pearce on Her 'Villain Edit,' 'God-Given' Gift, and 'Kissing Bandit' Rep". TVLine. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Slezak, Michael (September 21, 2011). "Glee Season Premiere Recap: 'Beat' Generation". TVLine. Mail.com Media. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  7. ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (September 21, 2011). ""The Purple Piano Project"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  8. ^ Hensel, Amanda. "'Glee' Recap: 'The Purple Piano Project' Goes Up in Flames". PopCrush. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  9. ^ Votta, Rae (December 7, 2011). "'Glee' Recap: Chord Overstreet Returns in Jam-Packed Episode". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  10. ^ Bell, Crystal (December 6, 2011). "'Glee' Season 3, Episode 8 Recap: It's Sectionals Time! And the Winner Is..." AOLTV. AOL. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  11. ^ Respers France, Lisa (September 21, 2011). "You're right 'Glee,' you need new members". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  12. ^ Lee, Amy (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' Season 3, Episode 1: 'The Purple Piano Project'". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  13. ^ West, Abby (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' season premiere recap: Join the Club!". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  14. ^ Benigno, Anthony (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' Recap (Season 3, Episode 1): Glitterbomb". The Faster Times. Sam Apple. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  15. ^ Bell, Crystal (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' Season 3 Premiere Recap". AOLTV. AOL. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  16. ^ Futterman, Erica (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' Recap: Season Three Off to a Strong Start". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  17. ^ Urban, Samantha (September 21, 2011). "TV recap: "Glee" – 'The Purple Piano Project'". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  18. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (August 22, 2011). "'The Glee Project's' Lindsay Pearce to Star in 'A Snow White Christmas' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  19. ^ Whiteman, Bobbie (December 4, 2011). "A Snow White Christmas". Variety. Reed Elsevier. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  20. ^ Schwartz, Jonas (December 4, 2011). "A Snow White Christmas". TheaterMania.com. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  21. ^ Martin, Deborah (January 6, 2012). "Review: 'The Last Five Years'". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  22. ^ BWW News Desk. "James Byous, Lindsay Pearce & More Lead Immersive AMERICAN IDIOT in L.A. – Briana Cuoco to Offer Exclusive Blog!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  23. ^ BWW News Desk. "Photo Flash: Meet the Cast of glory-struck's Immersive AMERICAN IDIOT in LA". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  24. ^ "See Lindsay Pearce, Sam Gravitte and Alexandra Billings in Their First Wicked Photos". Broadway.com. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  25. ^ "Modesto-raised actress Lindsay Pearce on 'Grey's Anatomy' this week, then back in town". Modbee. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  26. ^ Petski, Denise. "David Witts & Lindsay Pearce Round Out Cast of ABC Family Series 'Recovery Road'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
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