Beth Leavel

Beth Leavel (born November 1, 1955) is an American stage and screen actress and singer.

Life and career

Leavel was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. She attended Meredith College, earning a degree in social work. She completed a graduate theatre degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1980. She acted during college, appearing in productions such as Cabaret and Hello, Dolly!. Her Broadway debut was in the 1985 production of 42nd Street as a replacement for Annie. Twelve years later Leavel made her original cast debut in Crazy for You as Tess and an understudy for Polly Baker. In 1999, she played Mabel and Mrs. Bixby in The Civil War. Leavel returned to the revival of 42nd Street in 2001 as a standby for Maggie Jones and Dorothy Brock, eventually playing the latter. She has also been on Nickelodeon.

Leavel played the starring role of Beatrice Stockwell in The Drowsy Chaperone, for which she helped to create the character's backstory, she referred to as "a compilation of a lot of different women in theatre." For her work she received a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.