Judy Kuhn

Judy Kuhn (born May 20, 1958) is an American actress, singer and activist, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Kuhn made her professional stage debut in 1981 and her Broadway debut in the 1985 original production of the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Subsequent Broadway roles include Cosette in Les Misérables (1987), Florence Vassy in Chess (1988), and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me (1993). For all three, she received Tony Award nominations. She returned to Les Misérables in 2007 to play the role of Fantine. She received an Olivier Award nomination for her 1989 West End debut playing Maria/Futura in Metropolis. Other musical roles include Betty Schaeffer in the 1993 US premiere production of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Sara Jane Moore in the 2021 Off-Broadway revival of Assassins, and her Obie Award winning role as Emmie in the 2001 Off-Broadway production of Eli's Comin. She received a fourth Tony nomination in 2015 for her role as Helen Bechdel in the original Broadway production of Fun Home, and a second Olivier nomination in 2020 for her role as Golde in a London revival of Fiddler on the Roof.

Early life Kuhn (pronounced ) was born in New York City to Jewish parents and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. She entered Oberlin College. After taking voice lessons with Frank Farina, Kuhn transferred into the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. and graduated in 1981.

After college, she moved to Boston, where she waited tables and studied acting. After appearing in summer stock, Kuhn moved back to New York.

Stage career 1985–1989 Her Broadway debut was in Drood, a Rupert Holmes musical based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel, in 1985. She played the roles of "Alice / Miss Isabel Yearsley / Succubae" and understudied the title role played by Betty Buckley. Her next appearance on Broadway was in the ill-fated Rags, which opened on August 21, 1986, and closed after four performances.

Her next role of Cosette in the 1987 multiple award-winning Broadway production of Les Misérables brought her the first Tony Award nomination, as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (1987), and the Drama Desk Award (1987) nomination as Outstanding Featured Actress in A Musical.

Kuhn appeared in the Trevor Nunn-directed Chess, with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics by Tim Rice in the 1988 Broadway transfer from the West End, playing one of the main roles (Florence Vassy). Despite the show's success in London, Trevor Nunn decided to rework it for Broadway from a pop/rock opera as staged in London into a more conventional musical theater piece with a new book by Richard Nelson. As a result, the new show was greeted with mostly negative reviews and closed after less than a two-month run, on June 25, 1988. The Village Voice noted that "she pours a river of feeling and lush vocal tone into...the role". She garnered her second Tony Award nomination, this time as Best Actress in a Musical (1988), and a 1988 Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Actress in a Musical. She also performed in a Chess concert version in 1989 in Skellefteå, Sweden, during a chess World Cup final tournament, where she joined with Tommy Körberg and Murray Head, two principal actors from 1986 West End production of the musical.

Kuhn made her London debut in 1989, when she starred in the West End production of Metropolis, with Jeremy Kingston, reviewing for The Times (London) writing "I greatly enjoyed Kuhn's edgy, angular performance." She received an Olivier Award nomination as Best Actress in a Musical.

1990–1996 Kuhn's next major Broadway project, Two Shakespearean Actors (1992), despite a cast that included Brian Bedford, Frances Conroy, Hope Davis, Victor Garber, Laura Innes and Eric Stoltz, was commercially unsuccessful, closing after 29 regular performances.

In 1993, Kuhn played in the Roundabout Theater Company revival of She Loves Me, portraying Amalia Balash, a young Budapest shopgirl who is unaware that the co-worker she despises is the young man with whom she's been sharing an anonymous correspondence. Her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination as Best Actress in a Musical. The 1993 Broadway recording of this revival does not feature Kuhn, who left the production before the album was produced.

In December 1993, Kuhn played the role of Betty Schaefer in the U.S. premiere production of Sunset Boulevard at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles. The L.A production recorded a cast album, which is the only unabridged cast recording of the show with the original London recording being cut by thirty minutes.

Regional theatre credits in the early 1990s include The Glass Menagerie at the McCarter Theatre, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1991 as Laura and Martin Guerre, at the Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, Connecticut, in 1993. Kuhn reprised her role as Cosette in 1995, for the 10th anniversary concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which was released on DVD as Les Miserables: The Dream Cast in Concert.

1997–2006 Kuhn appeared in the Broadway concert King David which was a 1997 Disney project with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken and directed by Mike Ockrent. It played for a nine-performance limited run at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Kuhn sang in the second annual benefit concert for The Actors' Fund of Funny Girl in September 2002 at the New Amsterdam Theatre, with different actresses taking on the role of Fanny Brice. She sang "Who Are You Now?" and "People" of which Andrew Gans of Playbill wrote: she "provided an intense, moving, full-voiced 'People,' sensationally belting 'are the luckiest peeeeeeople (wow!) in the wooorld'."

Kuhn's Off-Broadway and regional theater credits in this period include: As Thousands Cheer (1998) Off-Broadway at the Drama Dept., Greenwich House Theater; Strike up the Band (1998) Off-Broadway Encores! Concerts at New York City Center; the title role in The Ballad of Little Jo (2000) at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago; Eli's Comin (2001) Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre Company (for which she won an Obie Award); The Highest Yellow (2004) at the Signature Theater in Virginia; and Three Sisters (2005) In a new adaption by Craig Lucas at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington.

2007–present On October 23, 2007, Kuhn returned to the Broadway production of Les Misérables after 20 years, this time assuming the role of Fantine. She succeeded Lea Salonga and remained with the show until the revival ended on January 6, 2008.

Kuhn portrayed Fosca in the Off-Broadway Classic Stage Company revival of the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical Passion from its opening in February 2013 through its scheduled closing in April 2013. Kuhn had previously played Fosca in the Stephen Sondheim celebration production in 2002 at the Kennedy Center.

In 2013, Kuhn originated the role of Helen Bechdel in the off-Broadway Public Theater production of the musical Fun Home, which began its run September 30, 2013 and opened officially on October 22, 2013. The run was extended multiple times and closed on January 12, 2014. She played the same role in the Broadway production, which ran from April 2015 to September 10, 2016, at the Circle in the Square.

Kuhn played the role of "Golde" in the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, starting on November 22, 2016. She played Golde in the Menier Chocolate Factory (London) production of Fiddler on the Roof which began on November 23, 2018, and ran to March 9, 2019.

From March to May 2024, Kuhn appeared in the musical Unknown Soldier by Daniel Goldstein and Michael Friedman at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

In June 2024, Kuhn portrayed Ida Straus in Titanic at New York City Center.

Career outside theatre Her television credits include Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU, All My Children and two PBS shows: My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies (recorded 1998, released 1999) and In Performance at the White House: A Tribute to Broadway – The Shows in March 1988.

Kuhn sang the title role in the 1995 Disney animated film Pocahontas. The film's score won an Academy Award, and the soundtrack reached #1 on the Billboard 200, selling over 2.5 million copies. The film included Kuhn's rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Kuhn also sang as Pocahontas in the straight-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, in "If You Can Dream", a Disney Princess song, and the 2023 live-action/animated short Once Upon a Studio. Kuhn briefly appeared in the film Long Time Since (1998) and supplied the vocals for the movie's soundtrack, which includes a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

She has performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall in Manhattan, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She has performed in a solo cabaret/nightclub act at, for example, Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in October 2007 and the Iridium in New York in January 2008. She performed her solo concert at Feinstein's at Loews Regency in March 2012.

Her first solo album, Just in Time: Judy Kuhn Sings Jule Styne, was released on January 31, 1995. Kuhn's second solo album, Serious Playground: The Songs of Laura Nyro, was released on October 2, 2007. In 2013, she released her third album All This Happiness, which contains pop, jazz, cabaret, and blues songs, along with the title song of the album, from the Stephen Sondheim musical Passion.

Kuhn also teaches a song interpretation class at Michael Howard Studios in New York City, where she studied earlier in her career. Andrew Gans of Playbill wrote that Kuhn "possesses one of the richest and most exciting instruments around; it is also an extremely versatile and rangy voice" and that Kuhn has "remarkable interpretive skills".

Personal life Kuhn lives with her husband, David Schwab, in New York City. They have one daughter, Anna.

Filmography

Film and television

Stage Emmie Vineyard Theatre 2002 Passion Fosca Kennedy Center 2002 Funny Girl|Fanny Brice

2005 Children and Art|unknown role 2005 A Wonderful Life|Mary Bailey Shubert Theatre 2007–2008 Les Misérables|Fantine Broadhurst Theatre 2009 Chance & Chemistry|unknown role Minskoff Theatre

Passion|Fosca Classic Stage Company

The Public Theater 2015–2016 Circle in the Square Theatre 2016 Fiddler on the Roof|Golde (replaced Jessica Hecht) Broadway Theatre

Steel Magnolias|M'Lynn The Cape Playhouse Fiddler on the Roof|Golde Menier Chocolate Factory & Playhouse Theatre 2021-2022

Classic Stage Company 2022 Stephen Sondheim Theatre 2023 I Can Get It for You Wholesale|Mrs. Bogen Classic Stage Company 2024 Titanic|Ida Straus New York City Center 2025 The Baker's Wife''DeniseClassic Stage Company

Discography

List of albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsSalesUSThe Mystery of Edwin Drood Release date: 1985 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Les Misérables Release date: March, 1987 Label: Formats: CD, cassette————— US: unknown World: unknown US: unknownChess Release date: 1988 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Aspects of Love Release date: 1989 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Metropolis Release date: 1989 Label: Formats:CD, cassette—————Rags, A New American Musical Release date: 1991 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Unsung Sondheim Release date: 1993 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Sunset Boulevard Release date: September 13, 1994 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Just in Time: Judy Kuhn Sings Jule Styne Release date: January 31, 1995 Label: Varèse Sarabande/Varese Formats: CD, cassette—————Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert Release date: 1995 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Pocahontas Release date: May 30, 1995 Label: Walt Disney Formats: CD, cassette————— US: unknown World: unknown US: unknownAs Thousands Cheer Release date: March 23, 1999 Label: Formats: CD, cassette—————Mulan II Release date: January 25, 2005 Label: Walt Disney Formats: CD—————Serious Playground - The Songs of Laura Nyro Release date: October 2, 2007 Label: Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom Formats: CD—————Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World Release date: November 23, 2009 Label: Walt Disney Formats: CD—————Passion Release date: 2013 Label: PS Classics Formats: CD—————All This Happiness Release date: 2013 Label: PS Classics Formats: CD—————Fun Home Release date: May 19, 2015 Label: PS Classics Formats: CD—————

Singles YearTitlePeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbumUSUSAC1987"Rue Plument - In My Life"————Les Misérables"A Heart Full of Love"————"The Attack on the Rue Plumet"————"Every Day"————"Wedding Chorale"————"Valjean's Death"————1988"How Many Woman" (with Philip Casnoff)————Chess"You Want to Lose Your Only Friend?" (with Philip Casnoff)————"Someone Else's Story"————"Terrace Duet" (with David Carroll)————"Nobody's Side"————"Heaven Help My Heart"————"You and I" (with David Carroll & Marcia Mitzman)————"I Know Him So Well"————"Lullaby (Apukad Eros Kezen)"————"You and I (Reprise)"————1989"Hold Back the Night" (with Lindsey Danvers, Stifyn Parri & Robert Fardell)————Metropolis"Children of Metropolis"————"Bring on the Night"————"You are the Light" (and Company)————"Futura's Dance" (and Company)————"Learning Song" (with Children)————"Futura's Promise"————"Haven't You Finished With Me?" (with Jonathan Adams)————"Let's Watch the World Go to the Devil (and Company)————"One of These Nights"————1993"What Can You Lose?"————Unsung Sondheim"Let's Have Lunch" (with Alan Campbell, Vincent Tumeo & Sal Mistretta)————Sunset Boulevard"Every Movie's a Circus" (with Alan Campbell)————"Every Movie's a Circus (Reprise)" (with Vincent Tumeo & Alan Campbell)————"Girl Meets Boy" (with Alan Campbell)————"This Time Next Year" (with Vincent Tumeo, Alan Campbell & Alan Oppenheimer)————"Girl Meets Boy (Reprise)" (with Alan Campbell)————"Too Much in Love to Care" (with Alan Campbell)————"The Final Scene" (with Alan Campbell, Glenn Close & George Hearn)————1995"You'll Never Get Away from Me"————Just in Time: Judy Kuhn Sings Jule Styne"Time After Time"————"Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)"————"Just Around the Riverbend"————Pocahontas"Colors of the Wind"———— US: unknown1999"How's Chances?" (with Lou Bruno/Richard Chamberlain/Dr. David Evans/Howard McGillin/B.D. Wong)————As Thousands Cheer"Lonely Heart" (with Lou Bruno & Dr. David Evans)————"Easter Parade" (with Lou Bruno/Dr. David Evans/Howard McGillin)————2005"Like Other Girls" (with Beth Blankenship & Mandy Gonzalez)————Mulan II2009"Where Do I Go From Here"————Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World"What a Day in London"————"Between Two Worlds (End Title)" (with Billy Zane)————2013"Sometimes my father appeared to enjoy having children" (with Beth Malone & Michael Cerveris)————Fun Home"Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue" (with Beth Malone, Sydney Lucas, Griffin Birney, Noah Hinsdale, Michael Cerveris & Joel Perez)————"Helen's Etude" (with Beth Malone, Michael Cerevis, Sydney Lucas, Noah Hinsdale, Griffin Birney & Alexandra Socha)————"I leapt out of the closet..." (with Beth Malone, Sydney Lucas & Michael Cerveris)————"Read a book..." (with Michael Cerveris & Sydney Lucas)————"Shortly after we were married..." (with Alexandra Socha)————"Days and Days"————

Awards and nominations

Theatre Source:IBDB