BWW Profile: LA LA LAND's Oscar-Nominated Stage and Screen Star, Emma Stone

Emma Stone's star is on the rise. The 28-year old actress has been a sought after leading lady for several years. Her 2015 Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for the film BIRDMAN solidified her reputation as one of Hollywood's most exciting young actresses, and in 2016, her turn as the leading lady Mia Dolan in movie musical LA LA LAND has taken her to the top of the A-List.

Director and writer Damien Chazelle's LA LA LAND is an award-winning return to classic movie musicals with a slightly more modern sensibility. The film collected a record 14 Oscar nominations, and has already wracked up 86 wins.

Stone stars opposite fellow nominee Ryan Gosling, following CRAZY STUPID LOVE and GANGSTER SQUAD. In LA LA LAND, Stone plays an aspiring actress, and Gosling plays a struggling jazz pianist. As the two fall in love, their careers and their art pull them apart.

Chazelle approached Stone about starring in the film while she was receiving applause eight times a week at Studio 54 where she joined Alan Cumming in the remounted revival of Kander and Ebb's musical CABARET. Stone took over playing nightclub chanteuse Fraulein Sally Bowles from Michele Williams in November and ended her run Valentine's Day weekend. (Sienna Miller will fill Sally's shoes for the remainder of the run until March 29, unless the popular revival receives another extension.)

When critics looked in on her turn as Sally Bowles, some said "Stone plays Sally, DANCING ON THE EDGE of desperation and too scared to look down" and she "acts the hell out of it." (Marilyn Stasio, VARIETY) USA TODAY's Alyssa Gardner described Stone's opening moments in CABARET: "The movie star's voice sounds slight and breathy, with a touch of whiskey at the edges; as she dances with the other Kit Kat Girls, she comes across as a particularly spry, playful sex kitten." Sally Bowles is not supposed to be a top drawer entertainer, Gardner reminded readers. "Stone hits her notes accurately and stylishly, summoning power when she needs to and letting a hoarse whisper suffice when the mood calls for it."

Making such a Broadway debut was a dream come true, according to Stone. She told VANITY FAIR, "I've wanted to play Sally Bowles since I was 10, when I saw Natasha Richardson."

Around the time Stone saw Richardson as Bowles, she was a number of years away from her comic turns in such films as SUPERBAD (2007), ZOMBIELAND (2009), her Golden Globe-nominated turn in EASY A (2010), and her double-whammy turns in CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE and the award-winning film THE HELP. Before she was romanced by Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker/Spiderman (on and off the screen) in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN I and II and other film roles, Stone was a girl growing up in Arizona to parents Krista (Yeager) and Jeffrey Stone. As a child, Stone began acting at age 11 at the esteemed Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Her roles at VYT included an award-winning turn as Otter in THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, and two seasons as Eeyore in A WINNIE-THE-POOH CHRISTMAS TAIL, and as Tweedledum in ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

Stone has described herself as a tom-boy growing up with Steve Martin and John Candy as her idols. Her comic appeal - as well as sex appeal - is certainly not in question now, thanks to roles such as Grace Faraday opposite Ryan Gosling in GANGSTER SQUAD (2013) and her upcoming film ALOHA (2015) starring alongside Bradley Cooper and Bill Murray.

Will you be rooting for Emma on Oscar night? Let me know your thoughts on Stone's nomination and the Oscars in general on Twitter @jeffwalker66.

The 89th Academy Awards telecast will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, February 26, 2017 (8:30 p.m.ET/5:30 p.m.PT) on ABC. Be sure to visit BWW for live coverage of the 2017 Academy Awards, with a theatrical slant.

Portions of this article were originally published in a 2015 article.