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Ivy Austin

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Ivy Austin
Born
Ivy Lynn Epstein

(1958-01-19) January 19, 1958 (age 66)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Alma materColgate University
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Websitehttp://www.ivyaustin.com/

Ivy Austin (born Ivy Lynn Epstein; January 19, 1958 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress and singer known for her performances on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and her Sesame Street voices. She also starred on Broadway as Raggedy Ann.

Biography

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Early life and education

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Ivy Austin is an alumna of NYC's High School of Performing Arts, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Colgate University, and a Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Manhattan College.

Career

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Austin's stage career began with national tours of Hair (as Crissy) in 1976 and They're Playing Our Song (Alter Ego) in 1979. She made her New York City Opera debut in 1982's Candide (Pink Sheep) and remained on the guest artist roster through 1989. Other NYCO credits include Naughty Marietta (Lisette), The Merry Widow (Zozo), The Music Man (Ethel Toffelmier), The New Moon, The Desert Song, South Pacific, and Sweeney Todd (Beggar Woman). Austin's Broadway debut in 1986 was as the starring role in the Joe Raposo/William Gibson musical Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure,[1] directed by Patricia Birch.[2]

In 1989, Austin performed "The Story of Gloria" on American Radio Company (now known as A Prairie Home Companion). According to Time Magazine, "The show's funniest sketch, a serial, produced a new star, actress Ivy Austin."[3] She also played the crusty-voiced French lady Babette, and sang with Rob Fisher and The Coffee Club Orchestra.

Austin has recorded countless songs for Sesame Street, and is the voice of Sesame Street characters Cereal Girl, Hammy Swinette, Sublime Miss M, Soo-ey Oinker of The Oinker Sisters, and Gloria Esta-worm. As writer/producer, Ivy Austin created holiday programs for National Public Radio and a long-running concert series at The World Financial Center. Ivy Austin appeared in numerous television commercials and has an impressive list of theatrical and concert credits.

Austin is in her sixth year as a contributing lyricist and performer in The Thalia Follies, a political satire in on New York's Upper West Side.

Austin performs regularly at Symphony Space on WNYC radio broadcasts of Selected Shorts and Bloomsday, and has participated in years of "Wall-to-Wall" music marathons. She appeared in Wall-to-Wall Broadway singing "Adelaide's Lament". She has performed several plays with the Night Kitchen Radio Theater for XM Satellite Radio.

Selected credits

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Discography

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  • Sing! Songs of Joe Raposo
  • Big Bird Discovers the Orchestra
  • Sesame Road
  • Born to Add
  • Splish Splash: Bathtime Fun
  • Sing-Along Travel Songs
  • Silly Songs
  • Hot!/Heat! Hot!/Heat! Hot!/Heat! Dance Songs
  • Sesame Street Platinum-All Time Favorites
  • Elmopalooza!
  • We Are All Earthlings
  • I’m Green and I’m Proud
  • Signs of the Times from Moo-town Records
  • Sesame Street Kids/Kid Favorite Songs
  • Sesame Street Best
  • Cheap Thrills
  • New York City Opera Candide
  • Lady Be Good!
  • Wall to Wall Richard Rodgers
  • A Prairie Home Christmas
  • A Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniversary Collection
  • Selected Shorts: A Night at the Office

Filmography

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Theatre credits

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Production Year Role Venue
No, No, Nanette 1974 Nanette Gateway Playhouse
George M! Nellie Cohan
Hair Crissy
Alice in Wonderland 1975 Violet (singing voice) Bil Baird Marionette Theatre
Hair Crissy Gateway Playhouse
Sugar Society Syncopater
Irene Jane McFudd
Jesus Christ Superstar Apostle Woman
They're Playing Our Song 1979-81 A Voice of Sonia Walsk National Tour
Candide 1982 Pink Sheep / Ensemble New York City Opera
1983 Arena Stage
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 1984 Beggar Woman (alternate) New York City Opera
Raggedy Ann Raggedy Ann The Egg
Sweet Adeline 1985 Dot New York Town Hall
Rag Dolly 1985-86 Raggedy Ann The Egg and Natalya Sats Musical Theater
Candide 1986 Pink Sheep / Ensemble New York City Opera
Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure Raggedy Ann Nederlander Theatre
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 1987 Beggar Woman (alternate) New York City Opera
The Music Man 1988 Ethel Toffelmier

Artistic direction and producing

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  • Christmas at Rainbow Corner (co-producer Denise Lanctot) 1993, National Public Radio[4]
  • Her Funny Valentine, 1994, National Public Radio
  • Women in Cabaret, 1994, World Financial Center
  • Women on Broadway, 1995, World Financial Center
  • The Tony Awards, 50 Years of Broadway's Best Musicals, 1996, World Financial Center
  • The Men I Love, A Centennial Salute to Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin, 1997, World Financial Center
  • Happy Birthday New York, A Musical Tribute to the City's Centennial, 1998, World Financial Center
  • The Great Songwriters of Hollywood, 1999, World Financial Center
  • Spring Fling, 2000, World Financial Center

References

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  1. ^ "U.S. Musical Sold Out : Raggedy Ann Snuggles Into Hearts of Muscovites". Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press. January 7, 1986. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  2. ^ Rich, Frank (October 17, 1986). "Theater: 'Raggedy Ann,' a Musical". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. ^ Skow, John (December 11, 1989). "Show Business: Wild Seed in the Big Apple: Garrison Keillor". Time. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009.
  4. ^ Holden, Stephen (December 5, 1994). "CABARET REVIEW; Innocent Radio Days". The New York Times.
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