Broadway Veteran Emily Padgett-Young Joins the Faculty at Oakland University

Emily Padgett-Young, a veteran of six Broadway shows, recently joined the faculty in the Department of Dance and Department of Theatre in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

Her husband - actor, singer and Tony Award nominated Broadway star Josh Young - joined the OU faculty in 2019 as an assistant professor of theatre.

"To be able to work alongside my husband and share my perspective, encouragement and passion for musical theatre with the students at OU is a complete joy," Padgett-Young said. "It feels like there's a lot of excitement about the future of the department right now and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."

Most recently, Padgett-Young was Broadway's original Mrs. Bucket in the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, directed by the legendary Jack O'Brien.

She drew from her Southern roots in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's first musical, Bright Star, gracing the stage from the Kennedy Center to its Tony Award nominated Broadway mounting. The Kennedy Center was also a pre-Broadway home to Side Show, Oscar winner Bill Condon's reimagined revival.

Padgett-Young played Daisy Hilton from Side Show's development at The La Jolla Playhouse, where she was awarded The San Diego Critics Circle Award for Best Access in a Musical to The Kennedy Center, where she was nominated for the renowned Helen Hayes Award and finally, to Broadway's St. James Theatre. She was also in the original cast of the most recent revival of Grease on Broadway and went on to play Sandy on its first National Tour.

A true "triple threat" performer, Padgett-Young has toured the United States and Mexico as Demeter in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats and was chosen to originate the role of Alex in the musical adaptation of the beloved 80's classic, Flashdance. For her dance prowess, Padgett-Young was nominated for the prestigious Chita Rivera Award for her turn as Helene in the most recent revival of Sweet Charity playing alongside Tony Award Winner, Sutton Foster.

Padgett-Young can be heard on several original cast albums including Side Show, Bright Star and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. As a concert artist, she has appeared in New York's most glamorous cabaret venues from 54 Below to the famed Joe's Pub at The Public Theatre. She has also performed with symphony orchestras from coast to coast and has joined her husband, Tony Award Nominee Josh Young, for duo performances all over the world including invited engagements upon Crystal Cruises' select specialty line, Crystal on Broadway, produced by original Rent producer Kevin McCulum.

Padgett-Young and her husband will be performing on February 12 in "Valjean, Cosette and a String Quartet" in the Great Hall inside the Detroit Institute of Arts; on Feb. 22-23 in "Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein" with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Ontario; and on March 25-27 in "The Best of Rodgers and Hammerstein" with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall in Detroit.

To learn more about the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, visit oakland.edu/smtd.

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