Joanna Gleason

Joanna Gleason (née Hall; born June 2, 1950)<ref name="secretasactingtool"/><ref>Dodge, Ellin (1986). You Are Your Birthday. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 204. Template:ISBN.</ref> is a Canadian-American actress and singer, known for her performances in theatrical musicals and plays, and on film and television.

In theatre, Gleason originated the role of the Baker's Wife in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods on Broadway, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical in 1988. She also received Tony nominations for her performances in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1985) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). Her notable film appearances include supporting roles in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997). On television she has appeared in ER, Friends, The West Wing, The Good Wife and The Affair.

Early life

Gleason is the daughter of Monty and Marilyn Hall. By the time of her birth, her father was working for Toronto radio stations<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and had changed his name from "Template:Not a typo" to "Hall". He later started his TV career and went on to fame as host of Let's Make a Deal.<ref name="secretasactingtool">Template:Cite news</ref>

Hall graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1968.<ref name="montyhallautobiography">Template:Cite book</ref> She was in the school's productions of The Music Man, The Mikado, The Grass Harp, and The Madwoman of Chaillot. In high school, Gleason received acting instruction from John Ingle, the soap opera star, who taught at BHHS from 1955 to 1985. She continued her education at UCLA,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> then Occidental College, from which she graduated. Gleason has been a teacher herself, holding classes and workshops all over the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Theatre

Gleason made her professional debut in Promises, Promises in 1972.<ref name="masterworks">Template:Cite web</ref> Five years later she debuted on Broadway, originating the role of Monica in Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart's I Love My Wife (1977),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> for which she was honored with a Theatre World Award.<ref name="actressemerges">Template:Cite news</ref>

Gleason returned to Broadway in 1984 to appear in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, as a replacement for the role of Charlotte originated by Christine Baranski.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1985 she played Pam in a revival of Peter Nichols' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. She won the Drama Desk Award in the same category the following year for her performances off-Broadway as Virginia in Terrence McNally's It's Only a Play and Trudy in Andrew Bergman's Social Security.<ref name="masterworks"/>

Gleason had her greatest success as the original Baker's Wife in Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, firstly at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego in 1986, before transferring to Broadway the following year. The New York Times, although somewhat critical of the production, described her as "wonderful,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and she won both the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical (presented by her co-star Bernadette Peters) and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her performance was captured on the original cast recording and in a filmed version broadcast on the PBS anthology series Great Performances.

In 1991 Gleason played the lead role of Nora Charles in Arthur Laurents, Charles Strouse and Richard Maltby Jr.'s Nick & Nora, a musical adaptation of The Thin Man that encountered numerous troubles in previews and closed after only nine performances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As Muriel in the musical adaptation of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The following year she played Titsiana in Douglas Carter Beane's The Cartells, a staged soap opera in which the New York Times deemed her "hilarious."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2007, Gleason was honored by the New England Theatre Conference with a Special Award for Achievement in Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Film and television

In 1979, Gleason was cast as supporting character Morgan in the television sitcom Hello, Larry starring McLean Stevenson; the series ran for two seasons but was poorly received. In the 1983 television movie Still the Beaver, she played Beaver's ex-wife Kimberly.

Gleason debuted on film in 1986, with roles in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (as Carol) and Mike Nichols' Heartburn (as Diana).<ref name="actressemerges"/> She worked with Allen again in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), playing Wendy, the wife of Allen's character.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She has since appeared in numerous films including F/X2 (1991),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), The Wedding Planner (2001),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Sex and the City (2004). She played the memorable role of Dirk's mother opposite Mark Wahlberg in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997).

On television, Gleason played the role of Nadine Berkus on the show Love & War (1992–95), several episodes of which she also directed, and Joan Silver on Temporarily Yours (1997).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She starred in the Lifetime series Oh Baby as Charlotte from 1998 to 2000, also directing episodes of this show. Shortly following the end of this series, she starred opposite Bette Midler on Bette as agent Connie Randolph.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She appeared in six episodes of the Canadian black comedy series Sensitive Skin as Veronica, from 2014 to 2016.

Gleason's numerous guest starring television credits include episodes of The West Wing, The Practice, King of the Hill, Friends, Password Plus, Tracey Takes On..., Murphy Brown, ER, The Outer Limits, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods and The Newsroom.

Personal life

Gleason has been married three times. She was married to acting coach Paul G. Gleason. She kept his surname professionally, although they divorced on June 28, 1982. Later, she married Michael Bennahum.<ref name="secretasactingtool"/>

Gleason has been married to actor Chris Sarandon since 1994. The two met while performing in Broadway's short-lived 1991 musical Nick & Nora, returned to the stage together in Thorn and Bloom (1998),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and collaborated on several films, such as Road Ends, Edie & Pen, Let the Devil Wear Black, and American Perfekt.

Gleason's siblings are television writer/director Sharon Hall Kessler and Emmy award-winning television writer/director Richard Hall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Acting credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Hannah and Her Sisters	Carol
1986	Heartburn	Diana
1989	Crimes and Misdemeanors	Wendy Stern
1991	F/X2	Liz Kennedy
1995	Mr. Holland's Opus	Adult Gertrude
1996	Edie & Pen	Maudie
1997	American Perfekt	Shirley
1997	Boogie Nights	Dirk's Mother
1997	Road Ends	Armacost
1999	Let the Devil Wear Black	Dr. Rona Hackley
2001	The Wedding Planner	Mrs. Donolly
2006	Wedding Daze	Lois
2007	The Girl in the Park	Sarah
2008	Sex and the City	Therapist
2008	My Sassy Girl	Kitty/Aunt Sally
2008	The Women	Barbara
2009	The Rebound	Roberta Finklestein
2013	Last Vegas	Miriam Harris
2014	The Skeleton Twins	Judy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Diff'rent Strokes	Morgan Winslow	3 episodes
1979–80	Hello, Larry		37 episodes
1981	Bosom Buddies	Faith Crane	Episode: "What Price Glory?"
1982	Love, Sidney	Gail	Episode: "The Activist"
1983	The New Leave It to Beaver	Kimberly	Episode: "Still the Beaver"
1983	Great Day	Jennifer Simpson	Television movie
1991	Into the Woods	Baker's Wife	Televised Broadway performance
1991	The Boys	Marie	Television movie
1992	For Richer, for Poorer	Irene	Television movie
1992–95	Love & War	Nadine Berkus	67 episodes
1993	Born Too Soon	Annemarie	Television movie
1994	For the Love of Aaron	Shirley	Television movie
1996	The Outer Limits	Leslie	Episode: "Inconstant Moon"
1996	ER	Iris	3 episodes
1996	If These Walls Could Talk	Julia (segment: 1974)	Television movie
1996–98	Tracey Takes On...	Katherine Hawkins LeAnne the Stewardess	2 episodes
1997	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	Delia Young	Voice; Episode: "Generosity"
1997	Temporarily Yours	Joan Silver	6 episodes
1997	Perversions of Science	Mrs. Rabe	Episode: "Anatomy Lesson"
1997	Murphy Brown	Athena Gillington	Episode: "Petty Woman"
1997–2004	King of the Hill	Various Roles	Voice; 8 episodes
1998	George and Leo	Teacher	Episode: "The Teacher"
1999	Friends	Kim Clozzi	2 episodes
1998–2000	Oh Baby	Charlotte St. John	28 episodes
2000–01	Bette	Connie Randolph	18 episodes
2001	The Practice	Henrietta Lightstone	2 episodes
2001–02	The West Wing	Jordon Kendall	5 episodes
2005	Fathers and Sons	Silvia	Television movie
2009–12	The Good Wife	Judge Romano	3 episodes
2010	How to Make It in America	Ben's Mother	Episode: "Paper, Denim + Dollars"
2010	Delocated	Dr. Mitchell	Episode: Conversions
2011	Royal Pains	Evelyn Woodward	Episode: Rash Talk
2013	Blue Bloods	Grace Newhouse	2 episodes
2014	The Newsroom	Nancy Skinner	Episode: "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
2014–16	Sensitive Skin	Veronica	6 episodes
2015	The Affair	Yvonne	3 episodes
2019	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Janice Hoffman	Episode: "Kimmy is in a Love Square!"
2021	The Bite	Veruca Dumont	3 episodes
2022	The Good Fight	Carmella Romano	1 episode

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Notes
1972	Fiddler on the Roof	Tzeitel<ref>Drake, Sylvie. "LBCLO Presents Fiddler," Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1972.</ref>	Long Beach Civic Light Opera, Regional
1974	Hamlet	Ophelia<ref name= "drake">Drake, Sylvie. "For Joanna Gleason, It's a Very Clear Day," Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1980.</ref>	Mark Taper Forum, Regional	Understudy
1975	All My Sons	Ann Deever<ref>Sullivan, Dan. "Mother Knows Best in 'All My Sons,'" Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1975.</ref>	Huntington Hartford Theatre, Regional
1975	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Rosemary<ref name= "drake"/>	Long Beach Civic Light Opera, Regional	Understudy
1977–78	I Love My Wife	Monica	Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
1980	On a Clear Day You Can See Forever	Daisy Gamble/Melinda	Regional Tour
1984	A Hell of a Town	n/a	Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway
1984	The Real Thing	Charlotte	Plymouth Theatre, Broadway	Replacement
1985	A Day in the Death of Joe Egg	Pam	Haft Theater, Off-Broadway
1985			Longacre Theatre, Broadway
1985–86	It's Only a Play	Virginia Noyles	New York City Center Stage I, Off-Broadway
1986	Social Security	Trudy Heyman	Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
1986–87	Into the Woods	The Baker's Wife	Old Globe Theatre, Regional
1987–88			Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway
1989
1989	Eleemosynary	Artie	New York City Center Stage II, Off-Broadway
1991	Nick & Nora	Nora Charles	Marquis Theatre, Broadway
1997	Into the Woods	The Baker’s Wife	Broadway Theatre, Broadway	10th Anniversary Concert
2004	The Normal Heart	Dr. Emma Brookner	Anspacher Theater, Off-Broadway
2004	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Muriel Eubanks	Old Globe Theatre, Regional
2005–06			Imperial Theatre, Broadway
2008	Something You Did	Alison	59E59 Theaters, Off-Broadway
2009	Happiness	Arlene	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Off-Broadway
2010	Into the Woods	The Giant's Wife	Diablo Theatre Company, Regional	Pre-recorded voiceover
2011	Sons of the Prophet	Gloria	Huntington Theatre Company, Regional
2011–12			Laura Pels Theatre, Off-Broadway
2022	Anyone Can Whistle	Narrator	Carnegie Hall	Concert
	Into the Woods	The Giant's Wife	Big Noise Theatre Company, Regional	Pre-recorded voiceover
2025	We Had a World	Renee	Manhattan Theatre Club

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Project	Result
1985	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play	A Day in the Death of Joe Egg	Template:Nom
1988		Best Actress in a Musical	Into the Woods	Template:Won
2005		Best Featured Actress in a Musical	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Template:Nom
1985	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Joe Egg	Template:Nom
1986			It's Only a Play	Template:Won
			Social Security	Template:Won
1988		Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Into the Woods	Template:Won
2005			Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Template:Nom
1988	Outer Critics Circle Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Musical	Into the Woods	Template:Won
2005		Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Template:Nom
2012		Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Sons of the Prophet	Template:Nom
1977	Theatre World Award	Template:N/a	I Love My Wife	Template:Won

External links

• Template:IBDB name
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• Joanna Gleason – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
• TonyAwards.com Interview with Joanna Gleason
• BroadwayWorld: Holtzman's 'Something You Did' Premieres Off-Bway with Gleason