“Glee” fans: Meet Melissa Benoist in photos, video
Patric Case and Melissa Benoist in Town Hall Arts Center’s “Footloose, the Musical,” in Littleton, Colo. Photo provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
By John Moore
Hey, “Glee” fans: The first episode of Season 4, airing Sept. 13, is titled, “The New Rachel Berry” … and the new Rachel Berry is named Marley … and she will be played by Arapahoe High School grad Melissa Benoist of Littleton, Colo.
Look for our exclusive interview with Melissa in the Sept. 9 Denver Post. Yes, she has already been Slushied. And yes, she opens Season 4 singing a cross-country duet with Lea Michele to Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.” Read more then.
Meanwhile, enjoy this look back at Melissa’s theatrical roots in the Denver metro area:
The Denver’s Post’s 2006 “Can’t Miss Kids,” from left: Max Posner, Noah Wilson, Akil LuQman, Melissa Benoist and Courtney Lorenz. (Photo by Lyn Alweis / The Denver Post)
Melissa Benoist, second from top right, as Brigitta with Annaleigh Ashford (Liesl) in the Country Dinner Playhouse’s 2000 staging of “The Sound of Music.” Swanson is now in off-Broadway’s “Dogfight.” In front of them, Jesse Johnson is now in Broadway’s “Wicked,” and, far left, Christopher Sergeeff is in the national touring production of “Mamma Mia.”
Melissa Benoist as Kim MacAfee in the Town Hall Arts Center’s “Bye Bye Birdie,” with Jerry Cunningham, in Littleton, Colo. Photo by Brian Miller, provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
On the day the Country Dinner Playhouse abruptly closed its doors in 2007, the cast of “Evita,” including Melissa Benoist (“Another Suitcase in Another Hall”) and Patric Case, gave one final performance of “Evita” in the rainy parking lot. (This was actually the pre-show medley promoting “Seven Brides,” which would have been the next show at the Playhouse.) Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post.
Melissa Benoist, top right with Markus Warren and the cast of the Country Dinner Playhouse’s “Evita” in 2007.
Melissa Benoist in the title role of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at the Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton, Colo. Photo provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
Melissa Benoist in the title role of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” with Seth Caikowski as the Prince, at the Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton, Colo. Photo provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
Melissa Benoist as Kim MacAfee in the Town Hall Arts Center’s “Bye Bye Birdie” in Littleton, Colo. Photo by Brian Miller, provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
Melissa Benoist as Kim MacAfee in the Town Hall Arts Center’s “Bye Bye Birdie” in Littleton, Colo. Photo by Brian Miller, provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
Melissa Benoist as Bebe in the Town Hall Arts Center’s “A Chorus Line” in Littleton, Colo. Photo by Brian Miller, provided by Town Hall Arts Center.
Melissa Benoist as Bebe in the Town Hall Arts Center’s “A Chorus Line” in Littleton, Colo. Photo by Brian Miller, provided by Town Hall Arts Center.Melissa Benoist, 2006. Photo by Lyn Alweis, The Denver Post.
By John Moore
Award-winning arts journalist John Moore was named one of the 12 most influential theater critics in the United States by American Theatre Magazine during has 12 years at The Denver Post. Hen then created a groundbreaking new media outlet covering Colorado arts an culture as an in-house, multimedia journalist for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He also founded The Denver Actors Fund, a nonprofit that has raised more than $600,000 for theatre artists in medical need. He is now a journalist for hire as the founder of Moore Media Colorado. You can find samples of his work at MooreJohn.Com. Contact him at culturewestjohn@gmail.com
