Alison Fraser

Alison Fraser is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Tisch Center for the Arts, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Wilma, The Emelin, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, and Symphony Space.

Career Fraser is a two-time Tony Award nominee for The Secret Garden and Romance/Romance, a Drama Desk Award nominee for both The Secret Garden, and First Daughter Suite and a Carbonell Award winner for Romance/Romance. Fraser is a Callaway Award-winner for Heartbreak House.

She played "Tessie Tura" in the New York City Center and Broadway productions of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone under the direction of Arthur Laurents.

She was the first ever recipient of Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of "The Blonde" in Marion Adler, Scott Wentworth and Craig Boehmler's film noir musical, Gunmetal Blues under the direction of Jiri Zizka. She reprised the role of "The Blonde" in Gunmetal Blues opposite Patrick Quinn at the George Street Playhouse.

In 2010, playwright and performer Charles Busch cast Fraser in his new comedy, The Divine Sister, a play satirizes the cinematic portrayal of nuns. Fraser played Sister Walburga. Fraser then originated the role of Arsinoe in David Ives' comedy The School For Lies at Classic Stage Company.

On December 16, 2013, Fraser joined the First National Tour of Wicked in the role of Madame Morrible.

In 2015, Fraser appeared in four episodes of the Showtime television series Happyish as both Ma Keebler and Boots.

From October 6 to November 22, 2015, Fraser performed in the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's musical First Daughter Suite at the Public Theater, in the roles of Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford. For her performance, Fraser received nominations for both the Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

In the fall of 2017, Fraser performed a limited run of playwright Aaron Mark's new play Squeamish. The one woman show was presented by All For One Theater (AFO) at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre. Squeamish ran October 6 – November 11, 2017. For Squeamish, Fraser received a 2018 Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.

In April 2021, AudioFile named Fraser a recipient of its Earphones Award for her audiobook narration of Alexander Nemerov's novel, Fierce Pose.

In 2023, the Off-Broadway Alliance honored Fraser with its "Legend of Off-Broadway" award.

Personal life Fraser was born in Natick, Massachusetts, on July 8, 1955, and in 1973 graduated from Natick High School, where she played Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and met William Finn, future composer of March of the Falsettos. She studied briefly at Carnegie Mellon before leaving for New York.

Fraser was married to composer and performer Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee from 1984 until his death in 2003. Their one son, Nathaniel Fraser Magee, is an editor in New York City.

She received her bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Fordham University in 2010. She has taught in Fordham's theater department.

Theatre credits In Trousers March of the Falsettos Falsettos Lady in the Dark Lips Together, Teeth Apart Lend Me a Tenor Tartuffe The Mystery of Edwin Drood Secret Garden Up Against It The Green Heart Beehive Honk! Prodigal Lizzie Borden Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams High School Musical A Quarrel of Sparrows Gypsy Wicked Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are The Divine Sister Archy and Mehitabel Love, Loss, and What I Wore The School For Lies A Charity Case In Masks Outrageous and Austere Love Therapy First Daughter Suite The Sandbox Funnyhouse of a Negro Squeamish the shards of an honor code junkie A Blanket Of Dust Heartbreak House Steel Magnolias Enter Laughing Cinderella Deathtrap Paradise Lost Romance/Romance Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Drowsy Chaperone Driving Miss Daisy

Filmography

Film 1988: Me and Him 1992: Jack and His Friends 1997: The Amazing Feats of Young Hercules (voice) 1998: Mixing Nia 2003: The Thing About My Folks 2006: In The Blood 2006: Spectropia 2012: Commentary 2014: Socks and Bonds 2016: Blowtorch 2017: The Mice War (voice) 2017: Family Games 2017: Hard 2018: Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon 2019: The Sound of Silence 2019: Impossible Monsters 2019: In The Campfire Light 2020: It Cuts Deep 2023: Landscape with Invisible Hand

Television 1995: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (voice) 2000–2001: Between the Lions – Babs Caplan 2001: Spy Groove – Mimi LeVerne, Kathy Lee Gifford (voices) (2 episodes) 2003: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 2003: Third Watch 2015: Happyish – Boots, Ma Keebler (voices) (2 episodes) 2016: High Maintenance 2017: Happy! – Mrs. Claws 2018: Gotham – Gertrude Haverstock (Episode: "That's Entertainment") 2023: Blue Bloods – Bobbi Gallo

Videogame 2008: Grand Theft Auto IV – Gertrude Leneau, The Crowd of Liberty City 2013: Grand Theft Auto V – Additional Voices 2016: Mafia III – Additional Voices