Barbara Walsh

Barbara Walsh (born June 3, 1955) Skilled at singing and performing impressions from a young age, she began performing in theater during high school. She attended Georgetown Visitation, an all-girls Catholic high school, and began performing in musicals at a local boys' high school. She then attended Montgomery College, where she studied drama and music. After college, Walsh worked in dinner theatre and summer stock in Warsaw, Indiana. She then remained in the role when Falsettos went to Broadway. She received a Tony Award nomination, a Drama Desk Award nomination, and a Los Angeles Ovation Award for the role. She later reprised this role for the show's national tour in 1994.

Walsh previously made her Broadway debut in 1982 in the cast of musical revue Rock 'N Roll! The First 5,000 Years. She then appeared in Nine as Francesca. She also appeared on Broadway in 1993 in Blood Brothers, originating the role of Mrs. Lyons. In 1996, Walsh played Mrs. Baskin in the original production of Big. In 2002, she took over the role of Velma Von Tussle in the Broadway production of Hairspray. She played Joanne in the 2006 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company, for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination. This production was taped for television and aired on PBS in February 2008.

Walsh performed Off-Broadway in Forbidden Broadway in the mid-1980s, parodying figures such as Barbra Streisand and Bernadette Peters. and Transport Group's Three Days to See (2015). Later in 2015, she appeared in Michael John LaChiusa's First Daughter Suite at The Public Theater, playing the role of Pat Nixon.

Walsh's other work includes national touring productions of Oklahoma!, Les Misérables, the 1990 US tour of Chess, for which her performance as Svetlana earned her a Carbonell Award, and the 1984 national tour of Nine, in which she reprised her role as Francesca from the Broadway production.

Regionally, Walsh has been seen in Houdini in 1997 and Exactly Like You in 1998 at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. She starred in Gretna Theatre's 1997 production of A Streetcar Named Desire as Blanche DuBois. Walsh replaced Donna Bullock in the role of Mother in the Chicago cast of Ragtime in 1998. She played Pfeni Rosensweig in the Wendy Wasserstein play The Sisters Rosensweig at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse in 2002. In 2006, Walsh played Joanne in John Doyle's production of Company at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, a role she reprised when the production later transferred to Broadway. She appeared in A Little Night Music in 2008 as Desirée Armfeldt at Center Stage in Baltimore. She played the dual roles of Edith Beale and her daughter Little Edie in Grey Gardens in 2008 at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. In 2009 she played Maria Callas in Paper Mill Playhouse's Master Class. She was cast in First Wives Club at the Old Globe Theatre in 2009. She performed in Capital Repertory Theatre's 33 Variations in 2010. She starred in George Street Playhouse's 2010 production of Creating Claire. She played Sonia in Center Stage's 2014 production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. In 2014, she played Margaret White in Studio 2ndStage's Carrie: the Musical, a role for which she won a Helen Hayes Award. In April 2016, it was announced that Walsh would join the cast of new musical Presto Change-O as part of Barrington Stage Company's 2016 season. Presto Change-O opened May 18, 2016, with Walsh playing the role of Mary. In August 2016, Walsh joined Gloucester Stage Company's production of Songs for a New World. In March 2017, Walsh portrayed Eliza Hamilton and Hillary Clinton in the Mohammed Fairouz opera The New Prince at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. She played Hannah Pitt and others in the Actors Theatre of Louisville's October 2017 production of Angels in America.

Walsh's television credits include multiple guest appearances on Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as well as the re-occurring role of Judy Schulman-Brown on One Life to Live. Walsh also appeared in the film Life with Mikey.

Personal life Walsh is married to Jack Cummings III, the artistic director of Transport Group Theatre Company.

Film + Year Title Role 1993 Life With Mikey Commercial Mother 2021 Help Me Mary Molly

Television + Year Title Role Notes 2000 As The World Turns Candace Brenner 2 Episodes 1998-2001 Law & Order Mrs. Lasky/Deanne Conroy 2 Episodes 2007 Great Performances Joanne Episode: Company: A Musical Comedy 2003-2007 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Mrs. Roland/Ariana Cypher 2 Episodes 2007-2009 One Life to Live Judy Schulmann-Brown 11 Episodes 2011 Submissions Only Bridget Sante Episode: 2/3 Memorized 2018 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Fur Lecturer Episode: We're Going to the Catskills! 2019 Madam Secretary Secretary Angela Tuttle Episode: The Common Defense 2025 Goosebumps Naomi Brewer 2 Episodes

Stage + Year Title Role Notes 1982 Nine Francesca (Replacement) 46th Street Theatre, Broadway 1982 Rock 'N Roll! The First 5,000 Years Performer St. James Theatre, Broadway 1984 Nine Francesca National Tour 1987 Birds of Paradise Stella Promenade Theater, Off-Broadway 1988 Les Misérables Ensemble National Tour 1990 Chess Svetlana National Tour 1992 Falsettos Trina John Golden Theatre, Broadway 1993 Blood Brothers Mrs. Lyons Music Box Theatre, Broadway 1996 Big Mrs. Baskin Shubert Theatre, Broadway 1997 Houdini Bess Houdini Goodspeed Opera House 1997 A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois Gretna Theatre 1998 Exactly Like You Arlene Murphy Goodspeed Opera House 1999 Ragtime Mother National Tour 2002 The Sisters Rosensweig Pfeni Rosenweig George Street Playhouse 2004 Hairspray Velma Von Tussle Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway 2006 Company Joanne Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park 2006 Company Joanne Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway 2008 A Little Night Music Desiree Armfeldt Baltimore Center Stage 2008 Grey Gardens Edith Beale/Little Edie Studio Theatre 2009 Master Class Maria Callas Paper Mill Playhouse 2010 33 Variations Dr. Katherine Brandt Capital Repertory Theatre 2010 Creating Claire Claire George Street Playhouse 2014 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Sonia Baltimore Center Stage 2014 Carrie Margaret White Second Stage Theater, Off-Broadway 2015 Three Days to See Annie Sullivan Transport Group, Off-Broadway 2015 First Daughter Suite Pat Nixon The Public Theater, Off-Broadway 2016 Presto Change-O Mary Barrington Stage Company 2016 Songs for a New World Performer Gloucester Stage Company 2017 The New Prince Eliza Hamilton/Hilary Clinton Dutch National Opera 2017 Angels in America Hannah Pitt Actors Theatre of Louisville 2018 Summer and Smoke Mrs. Winemiller Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway 2019 Bonnie’s Last Flight Jan Fourth Street Theatre, Off-Broadway 2019 Macbeth Ross Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway 2021 Oklahoma! Aunt Eller National Tour 2026 3Penny Opera Polly Peachum Theatre at St. Jean's, Off-Broadway 2026 Public Charge Judy Gross The Public Theater, Off-Broadway 2026 The Potluck Mom SoHo Rep, Off-Broadway