Alison Luff

Last updated
Alison Luff
Born
Alison Nicole Luff

(1988-12-20) December 20, 1988 (age 35)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Klein Collins High School
Occupations
  • Stage actress
  • singer
Known forPlaying Elphaba in Wicked and Jenna in Waitress
SpouseMatthew Magnusson
Children1 [1]

Alison Nicole Luff (born December 20, 1988) is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her extensive work in musical theatre, notably for her roles as Elphaba in the First National Tour of Wicked and Jenna in the Broadway production of Waitress . From 2021 to 2023, she has appeared in a lead role in the Starz drama series Heels .

Contents

Early life

Alison Luff was born on December 20, 1988, in Spring, Texas. [2] Since childhood, she had a passion for theater, which grew as she grew up. [3] At age 6, she began singing and dancing with Encore Youth Performers. [4] One year later, she began acting in community theater, and at age 10, she began acting in professional theater. [4] She attended Klein Collins High School, where she was involved in almost every one of her school's theater productions. [4] As Éponine in her school's production of Les Miserables , she was nominated for best actress at the Tommy Tune Awards, and as Annabel Glick in her school's production of Lucky Stiff , she won best actress at an awards ceremony at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. [4] Instead of attending college, [5] she worked and performed to save money to move to New York City. [4]

Career

Luff made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of Mamma Mia , understudying the roles of Ali and Sophie. She departed the production on January 1, 2012. [6] She also performed the same track on the second national tour. She then understudied Carolee Carmello as Aimee Semple McPherson in the short-lived Broadway musical, Scandalous. [7]

She then went on to star in the Broadway production of Ghost as an understudy for the role of Molly, which was played by Caissie Levy. [6]

Luff made her Wicked debut on April 30, 2013 [8] with the 1st National Tour, alongside Jennifer Gambatese as Glinda. She took a short break from Elphaba July 2 to 7, 2013, in which time the role was played by Dee Roscioli. She played her final performance as Elphaba on April 20, 2014, with Gina Beck as Glinda. She was replaced by Emma Hunton as Elphaba. [9]

Luff played Miss Honey in the Broadway production of Matilda , in which she performed from September 6, 2014, to September 6, 2015. [10] She played Charlie Jane in the Pasadena Playhouse production of Breaking Through until the end of the show's run on November 22, 2015. [11] Luff then starred as Fantine in the second Broadway revival of Les Misérables from February 2016 until the production's closing in September 2016. From October 20 to December 2, 2017, Luff starred in the pre-Broadway tour of Escape to Margaritaville as Rachel. She reprised her role in the Broadway production from March 15 to July 1, 2018. [12] [13] She also starred as Jenna in Waitress from July 23, 2019, to September 15, 2019. [14]

Film/TV Credits
ProductionRoleYearNotes
Les Misérables: The Broadway MusicalEnsemble2014Broadway production filmed live
FBI Sam Chapman2019Episode: "Identity Crisis"
New Amsterdam Alice Healy2020Six episodes
Heels Staci Spade2021–202316 episodes

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References

  1. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvvtz2JsCUs/?hl=en
  2. Blank, Matthew (August 4, 2015). "Cue & A: Matilda's Alison Luff on Her Upcoming Projects, Stage Fright and Taylor Swift". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  3. "Breakout Stars Ushering in a New Golden Age on Broadway: Escape to Margaritaville Star Alison Luff". BroadwayBox.com. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 MAINES, DON (2011-04-26). "Mamma Mia! Here she goes again!". Chron. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  5. Arnegger, Sarah Jane (March 15, 2018). "Schools of the Stars: Where Escape to Margaritaville Cast and Creators Went to College". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  6. 1 2 "Alison Luff". Playbill . Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  7. "Scandalous – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  8. Studios, Immotion (2013-04-11). "WICKED Tour – Alison Luff and John Davidson to join the cast". Dallas Summer Musicals. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  9. "Emma Hunton to join Wicked 1NT on April 23rd!" . Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  10. "Former Elphaba Alison Luff to Take Over as Miss Honey in Matilda on Broadway". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  11. "Alison Luff, Constantine Maroulis to Lead Cast of World Premiere Musical 'Breaking Through'". Pasadena Independent. 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  12. "Escape to Margaritaville – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  13. "Escape to Margaritaville – Broadway Musical – Tour | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  14. "Alison Luff is the Next Jenna in Waitress". Broadway Direct. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2020-12-21.