Broadway Veteran Rebecca Luker Has Passed Away at 59
Last year, Rebecca was diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease closely related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
By: Stephi Wild Dec. 23, 2020
BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Broadway veteran Rebecca Luker has passed away today, December 23. She was 59 years old. Just last year, Rebecca was diagnosed with ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease closely related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Rebecca Luker has appeared on Broadway numerous times, making her debut in The Phantom of the Opera in 1988.
Luker received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her role as Marian Paroo in The Music Man. She also received a Tony nomination for her role as Magnolia in Showboat, as well as an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Maria in The Sound of Music, and a Drama Desk Nomination for Lily in The Secret Garden.
Her other Broadway roles include Helen in Fun Home, the Fairy Godmother, Marie, in Cinderella, Winifred in Mary Poppins, and Claudia Nardi in Nine.
With the New York City Opera, Luker was featured in X (The Life and Times of Malcolm X) and was Fiona in Brigadoon.
Her Off-Broadway credits include Maury Yeston's Death Takes a Holiday, for which she received an Outer Critics Circle nomination, as well as A.R. Gurney's Indian Blood, Can't Let Go, and The Vagina Monologues.
Luker has performed leading roles at regional theaters throughout the country including the world premier of Little Dancer by Aherns and Flaherty, Directed by Susan Stroman, Clara in Passion at the Kennedy Center, Julia in Time and Again at The Old Globe, Mary in Harmony (Drama-Logue Award) at the La Jolla Playhouse and Amalia in She Loves Me with the "Reprise!" series in Los Angeles.
She has appeared on television in series such as Bull, NCIS: New Orleans, Elementary, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Boardwalk Empire, and The Good Wife. Her film credits include Spectoria, Not Fade Away, and The Rewrite.
Luker is featured on the album All The Girls alongside Sally Wilfert, which will be released on December 25, 2020. The album celebrates womanhood, and features songs from Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Fred Ebb & John Kander.
Luker married fellow Broadway veteran Danny Burstein in June 2000.
She was an advocate for the ALS drug, Prosetin, which she helped raised money for through her concert, At Home With Rebecca Luker, in June 2020. The goal was to raise $175,000 and at press time, $230,317 has been raised.
Luker made a video in October, urging people to email their congressmen regarding the drug that many suffering from this illness desperately need.
You can donate to the cause at https://fundraise.projectals.org/campaign/at-home-with-rebecca-luker/c287372 and learn more about Prosetin at prosetin2020.org.
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