Lesli Margherita Returns To Bucks County Playhouse With One-Woman Show

Olivier Award winner and Broadway star Lesli Margherita (Matilda, Dames at Sea, Zorro), Adelaide from Bucks County Playhouse's blockbuster production of "Guys and Dolls," returns to New Hope with a brand-new concert, This Broad's Way, Saturday, January 20 at 8:00 p.m. Margherita is appearing at the Playhouse as part of the Winter Visiting Artists Series.

Featuring time honored classics, Broadway showstoppers, and new twists on what will become old favorites, Margherita takes the stage with her signature sass and wit to share stories about how she's managed to carve her niche in this business we call show. She's done it big. She's done it loud. She's done it her way. This Broad's Way, written by and starring Margherita will be directed and produced by Lauren Bass, featuring musical direction and arrangements by Brett Ryback (BCP's "Murder for Two: Holiday Edition").

"Lesli Margherita is without question one of the brightest lights to come along on Broadway in the past decade and there is no question she is destined for a great career. Just this week, the New York Times hailed her performance in 'Who's Holiday!' as "brassy and funny." She stole the hearts of our audience this summer in 'Guys and Dolls,' and now she's coming back to sing the great songs from the Broadway stage in an evening that we expect will blow the roof of the theatre."

An Olivier Award winner for her West End debut as Inez in "Zorro the Musical," Margherita made her Broadway debut originating the role of Mrs. Wormwood in "Matilda The Musical." After over 1000 performances, she bid farewell to the Broadway company of Matilda and crossed the street to The Helen Hayes to star as the diva Mona Kent in the Broadway premiere of Randy Skinner's "Dames at Sea." In September 2016, Margherita returned to the role she originated to close out the Broadway run of "Matilda."

Margherita currently recurs on three television dramas: Homeland ("Showtime"), "Instinct" (CBS), and "Seven Seconds" (Netflix). This past Fall she starred opposite Topher Grace, Taye Diggs and JC Chasez in the feature film "Opening Night" which was released theatrically and can now be seen on Netflix. This holiday season she starred as Cindy Lou Who in the world premiere of "Who's Holiday!" at the Westside Theater.

Born and raised in California, Margherita trained at UCLA and was soon after chosen to star in MGM's television series "Fame LA" directed by Kenny Ortega. She has gone on to star and recur on numerous television shows and pilots including "Donny!", "The Good Wife", "Major Crimes", "The Suite Life on Deck", "Charmed", "NYPD Blue", and "On the Lot", produced by Steven Spielberg.

Film credits include "Lucky Stiff" with Jason Alexander, Joel Schumacher's "The Number 23", and the Sam Raimi produced "Boogeyman 2." Margherita's voice can also be heard on several animated films and shows including Disney's "Cinderella 3" and Nickelodeon's "Sponge Bob Squarepants".

Aside from "Guys and Dolls," Margherita's regional stage credits include Signora Psyche Zinobia in "A Scythe of Time" (NYMF; Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role), Esmeralda in "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (Sacramento Music Circus), Lilli/Kate in "Kiss Me, Kate" (Reprise; Ovation Award - Best Actress), "The Gronholm Method" (The Falcon; Ovation nomination - Best Ensemble), Aldonza in "Man Of La Mancha" opposite Davis Gaines (MTW; Ovation nomination and LADCC nomination - Best Actress), Julie in "Showboat" (Goodspeed Opera), Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors" (La Mirada), Lady of the Lake in "Spamalot" opposite Gary Beach (Sacramento Music Circus), Ilona in "She Loves Me" (CLOSBC), the West Coast Premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's "See What I Wanna See" (Blank Theatre), Rated RSO (Boston Court), and Gloria in "Damn Yankees" (Reprise; Directed by Jason Alexander).

Margherita is a published author and her books Neck Punch and Carry On: Advice from the "Queen" and BLU! are available on iTunes and Amazon. She created the popular backstage vlogs 'Looks Not Books' and 'Ship Happens', which can be seen on Broadway.com and YouTube. Margherita's critically acclaimed solo shows "Rule Your Kingdom", "All Hail the Queen,?" and "Broad" continue to play to crowds across the country.

Bucks County Playhouse, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, is the oldest and largest professional Equity performing arts center in Bucks County. Under the direction of Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman, the Playhouse provides first class professional theatrical entertainment as well as community events, partnerships and arts education programming for visitors and residents of New Hope, Doylestown, Lambertville and the Delaware Valley.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, George S. Kaufman, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein.

Since its renovation, significant productions include Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons" starring Tyne Daly, which moved to Broadway and was nominated for two Tony Awards, and "Misery" by William Goldman based on the Stephen King novel which also went on to a Broadway run in the 2015-16 season. Two of the Playhouse's recent productions -- "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" -- were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. The Playhouse's productions of "Steel Magnolias" and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" broke box office records in 2016. The record was broken again with its production of "Guys and Dolls" in Summer 2017. Thanks to the Bridge Street Foundation and its vision for the New Hope waterfront, the Playhouse is currently in construction as it adds a 4,000-square foot riverfront cafe and bar that will open in 2018.

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