Jennifer Laura Thompson (born December 5, 1969) is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen, and received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown. She is also known for being the first replacement for Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway.
Career Thompson made her Broadway debut in 1998 as Ariel Moore in the original cast of Footloose. She also originated the role of Hope Cladwell in both the off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Urinetown. She received a Tony Award nomination for the 2002 Best Leading Actress in a Musical category for her performance as Hope in Urinetown; the award went to Sutton Foster for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Thompson is also well known for being the first replacement actress for the role of Glinda in the Broadway hit musical Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre. Her first performance replacing Kristin Chenoweth was on July 20, 2004, and continued in the role for over ten months. During her run as Glinda, she performed opposite Idina Menzel and Shoshana Bean as Elphaba. She departed the company on May 29, 2005. She was replaced by Megan Hilty, who had served as her standby. Thompson would later return to the theatre on October 27, 2008, to take part in a one-off performance titled "The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken", a presentation of rough scenes and songs cut from early drafts of Wicked.
Off-Broadway, Thompson played the lead role of Charlotte in the Michael John LaChiusa musical, Little Fish at the Second Stage Theatre. She also appeared in A Doll's Life at the York Theatre, Good News at the Westchester Broadway Theatre (as Connie), Pardon My English, Strike up the Band!, and most recently, Of Thee I Sing for City Center Encores!, and Tip-Toes at Carnegie Hall. She played Julie Jordan in the first national tour of Carousel, and appeared in national tours for Jesus Christ Superstar (as Mary) and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Regionally, she has played roles such as Laura in The Glass Menagerie, Corie in Barefoot in the Park and Luisa in The Fantasticks. She has also made a guest appearance on television's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
She also starred in the Encores! production of On the Town which ran from November 19 to 23, 2008.
Thompson starred as Diana in the Broadway revival of Lend Me a Tenor, which officially opened April 4, 2010, at the Music Box Theatre.
On December 17, 2010, it was announced that she would be featured in the premiere of the musical version of the film Little Miss Sunshine at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California. The musical ran at La Jolla from February 15 through March 27, 2011, with Thompson in the role of Sheryl Hoover. She did not play in the Off-Broadway production (which ran in November to December 2013).
Thompson starred as Eileen Evergreen in the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, which opened on Broadway in spring 2012 at the Imperial Theatre.
Thompson has also starred in the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen at the Music Box Theatre from December 4, 2016, to August 4, 2019.
Personal life Thompson has a husband, John Kain, and a son, Thomas. She attended and graduated from Birmingham Groves High School in 1987. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre in 1991.
Theatre credits YearProductionRoleNotes 1992 Jesus Christ Superstar Mary Magdalene Concert/Tour 1994 A Doll's Life Lady of the Evening/Jailed Woman/Helga/Brigit Off-Broadway 1995 Good News Constance Lane Regional 1996–1997 Carousel Heavenly Friend/Jenny Peters/Understudy: Julie Jordan National Tour 1998 Strike Up the Band Ensemble Encores! Footloose Ariel Moore Broadway 2001 Urinetown Hope Cladwell Off-Broadway Broadway 2003 Little Fish Charlotte Off-Broadway 2004Wicked Glinda (Replacement) Broadway Pardon My English Frieda Bauer Encores! 2006 Of Thee I Sing Mary Turner Encores! Little Fish Ensemble Concert 2008 On the Town Claire de Loone Encores! 2009 Judas & Me The Virgin Mary Off-Broadway 2010 Lend Me a Tenor Diana Broadway 2011 Little Miss Sunshine Sheryl La Jolla Playhouse Company Jenny Concert Kiki Baby Marina Off-Broadway 2012 Nice Work If You Can Get It Eileen Evergreen Broadway 2015 Lady, Be Good! Josephine Vanderwater Encores! Dear Evan Hansen Cynthia Murphy Arena Stage 2016–2019 Off-Broadway Broadway 2019 Into the Wild Performer Playwrights HorizonsAmber Gray, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Ryan McCartan, More Featured in Industry Reading of Into the Wild Musical 2022 Parade Sally Slaton New York City Center
Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes2011CompanyJenny Concert film2015Construction Janet
Television Year Title Character Episodes2002Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Aimee Slocum 1 episode2009The Battery's Down Jess Wilson 1 episode2011 Person of Interest Mrs. Kovach 1 episode2014ElementaryRachel Brown1 episode2016The Mysteries of Laura Mindy Lewis 1 episode2019Tales of The City Maura Bradshaw 1 episode
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult2002Tony AwardBest Actress in a MusicalUrinetown2005Broadway.com Audience Choice AwardsFavorite Replacement (Female)Wicked2012Grammy AwardsBest Musical Theater AlbumNice Work If You Can Get It2016Helen Hayes AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical Dear Evan Hansen2017Broadway.com Audience Choice AwardsFavorite Featured Actress in a Musical2018Grammy AwardsBest Musical Theater AlbumDaytime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program
References
External links
Jennifer Laura Thompson Interview by Beth Stevens on Broadway.com