Caissie Levy

Caissie Levy (born April 15, 1981) is a Canadian actress and singer, mainly known for her work in musical theatre on Broadway and in the West End. Her early Broadway credits included Penny Pingleton in Hairspray and Sheila in Hair, also playing this role in the West End. She originated the role of Molly Jensen in Ghost: the Musical in the West End and on Broadway, and played Fantine in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Miserables. Levy also originated the role of Elsa in Frozen on Broadway.

Caissie Levy
Levy outside the stage door of Ghost: the Musical in London.
Born
Caissie Shira Levy

(1981-04-15) 15 April 1981
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
OccupationSinger, actress
Years active2002–present
Spouse(s)
David Reiser
​
(m. 2011)​
Children1
Websitewww.caissielevy.com

Early life

Levy was born in Ontario to Jewish parents Mark, a general practitioner, and Lisa Levy, an administrator at her husband's medical practice.[1] She has two elder brothers, Robi and Josh, who are film directors/writers/producers known as The Levy Brothers. Levy attended Camp Ramah in Canada[2] and graduated from Westdale Secondary School in 1999.[3] Levy next attended New York's American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA).[3]

Career

A week after graduating from AMDA in 2002, she was cast in the role of Maureen Johnson in the U.S. national tour of Rent. Levy then played the role of Penny Pingleton in both the Broadway (2006) and U.S. national tour companies of Hairspray after understudying the role in the Toronto company.[4] During this time, she also covered the role of Amber Von Tussle. In 2008, Levy starred as Elphaba in the Los Angeles sit-down production of Wicked, alongside Megan Hilty as Glinda. She had previously understudied the role on Broadway and briefly served as standby in Los Angeles.[5] She next starred as Sheila in the Broadway revival of Hair in 2009–2010 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.[6] She transferred to the West End revival in 2010 at the Gielgud Theatre.[7]

In 2011–2012, Levy originated the role of Molly Jensen in Ghost: the Musical at Manchester Opera House and then in London's West End at The Piccadilly Theatre.[8] She transferred to the Broadway production in 2012 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.[9] She can be heard on the cast recordings for Hair and Ghost as well as singing, "Please Don't Let Me Go" on the re-release of composer Scott Alan's album Keys. Levy can also be heard singing "Dear Daddy" on composer Bobby Cronin's album and "I Am Yours" on composer Jonathan Reid Gealt's album Thirteen Stories Down.

Levy released an EP in 2013[10][11] and gave two concerts at the London Hippodrome Casino the same year.[12][13] Also in 2013, Levy starred as Sara in the Manhattan Theatre production of Murder Ballad, a musical by Trip Cullman at the off-Broadway Union Square Theatre.[14][15] She played Fantine in the Broadway revival of Les Miserables at the Imperial Theatre in 2014–2015.[16][17]

Levy originated the role of Elsa in the stage adaptation of Frozen, which opened in Denver in 2017[18] and moved to Broadway in February 2018.[19] She departed the Broadway production, after two years, on February 16, 2020.[20]

Personal life

On October 30, 2011, Levy married actor David Reiser in an evening ceremony at the Soho Beach House in Miami, after five years of dating.[21] In February 2016, Levy gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Izaiah. On January 21, 2021, Levy officially became a US citizen.

Work

Theatre
Year Production Role Venue
2002–03 Rent Maureen National Tour
2004 Hairspray Swing Toronto / Regional
Penny (understudy)
2005–06 Penny National Tour
2006 Neil Simon Theatre
2006-07 Wicked Ensemble Gershwin Theatre
Elphaba (understudy)
2007–08 Elphaba (standby) Pantages Theatre
2008 Elphaba
2009–10 Hair Sheila Al Hirschfeld Theatre
2010 Gielgud Theatre
2011 Ghost The Musical Molly Manchester Opera House
2011–12 Piccadilly Theatre
2012 Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
2013 Murder Ballad Sara Union Square Theatre
2014–15 Les Misérables Fantine Imperial Theatre
2015 First Daughter Suite Patti Davis/Julie Nixon The Public Theatre
2017 Frozen Elsa Buell Theatre
2018-20 St. James Theatre

Television[22]
Year Show Role Notes
2009 Late Show with David Letterman Performer for Hair Season 16, Episode 131
2009 The Battery's Down LA Girl Episode: "I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here"
2014 Wishenpoof Snowbear Fairy (voice) Season 2, Episode 16
2016 Creative Galaxy Tooth Fairy (voice) Episode: "The Tooth Fairy: Part 1/The Tooth Fairy: Part 2"
2018 Gotham Tiffany Gale Episode: "A Dark Knight: Pieces of a Broken Mirror"

Film
Year Show Role Notes
2016 Ms. Bula Banerjee Lydia Chaney Short
2018 Options Avery Ross Short

Solo Recordings
  • With You – released independently (2013)

Cast Recordings
  • Hair – Ghostlight Records (2009)
  • Ghost The Musical – Ghost Rights Worldwide LLP (2011)
  • With You: Ghost The Musical Stand Up to Cancer EP – Ghost Rights Worldwide LLP (2011)
  • Frozen: The Broadway Musical – Walt Disney Records (2018)

References
  1. "Caissie Levy & David Reiser to Marry Tonight". Broadwayworld.com. October 30, 2011.
  2. "Caissie Levy's Reflection". Reshet Ramah. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  3. Corrigan, Kerry (September 2002). "Caissie Levy, Kevin Spencer - Maureen and Roger in Rent at Hamilton Place". VIEW Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2008-05-03. Caissie Levy, 21, graduated from Westdale in 1999
  4. New Penny To Shine In Hairspray: Caissie Levy Broadway World, July 21, 2013
  5. "Worley to Join L.A. Wicked Cast; Levy to Succeed Espinosa". playbill.com. December 18, 2007.
  6. "Swenson, Lawrence, Ryness, Levy and Allen Complete Cast of Broadway's Hair". Playbill.com. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  7. "Kyle Riabko, Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo Are Hair's New Headliners; Complete Cast Announced". Broadway.com. February 16, 2010.
  8. "Ghost Musical Premieres in Manchester, Mar 2011". WhatsOnStage.com. August 27, 2010. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  9. "I'm Outta Here! Ghost Sets Broadway Closing Date". Broadway.com. July 24, 2012.
  10. "Caissie Levy and David Are Will Celebrate New Recordings With Starry Concert". Playbill.com. November 26, 2012.
  11. Ferri, Josh. "Caissie Levy to Play Tunes from Her New EP at 54 Below", Broadway.com, February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2018
  12. "Caissie Levy - The Hippodrome Casino". Hippodromecasino.com. November 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  13. "Details of Caissie Levy and David Are at The Hippodrome Casino". londontheatre1.com. January 21, 2013.
  14. "Murder Ballad, Starring Caissie Levy, Will Swenson & More, to Play Off-Broadway's Union Square Theatre". broadway.com. April 9, 2013.
  15. Off-Broadway Rock Musical Murder Ballad Closes July 21 Playbill, Retrieved July 21, 2013
  16. "Les Miserables Announces First Wave of 2014 Cast". broadwayworld.com. October 22, 2013.
  17. "Farewell Fantine! Les Miserables star Caissie Levy looks back on the dream role that became a reality". broadwayworld.com. February 26, 2015.
  18. "Frozen Musical Announces Full Broadway Lead Casting". broadway.com. April 17, 2017.
  19. "Breaking: Mark Your Calendar! Frozen Announces Opening Night on Broadway". BroadwayWorld.com. August 23, 2017.
  20. "Original Frozen Stars Caissie Levy and Patti Murin Bid Farewell to Arendelle Today". BroadwayWorld.com. February 16, 2020.
  21. "Caissie Levy, David Reiser". nytimes.com. October 30, 2011.
  22. "Caissie Levy". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
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