| Samantha Pauly | |
| Birth Name: | Samantha Megan Pauly |
| Birth Place: | Bettendorf, Iowa, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Viterbo University |
| Years Active: | 2010–present |
Samantha Megan Pauly[1] (born 1989 or 1990)[2] is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Katherine Howard in the musical Six at the Lena Horne Theatre on Broadway, as well as for portraying Eva Perón in the West End revival of Evita at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[3] [4]
Pauly was born in Bettendorf, Iowa. From 2004 to 2008, she attended Pleasant Valley High School in Riverdale, Iowa, where she did not become interested in musical theatre until her junior year.[5] [6] In high school, she appeared in productions of The Pajama Game as Gladys and Chicago as Velma Kelly.[7] The production of Chicago was later selected to perform at the International Thespian Festival in June 2008.[8] She later trained at Viterbo University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Theatre and Dance in 2012.[9] [10] [11] Pauly played numerous roles while training, including Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Joanne in Company, and Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years.[12] [13]
In 2010, Pauly appeared in a community theatre production of Rent at Toland Theatre, playing the role of Mimi.[14] Her first production after graduating from Viterbo University in 2012 was playing the lead role of Elle Woods in the musical Legally Blonde at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse.[15] In 2014, she portrayed Eva Perón in Evita at the Jedlicka Theatre.[16]
In 2015, Pauly played the role of Teen Cee Cee in Beaches alongside Presley Ryan and Shoshana Bean, who played the child and adult versions of the role respectively. She also portrayed Eva Perón in Evita as an alternate at the Marriott Theatre.[17] In January 2016, she played Amber in a regional production of Hairspray at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois. Later the same year, she appeared in an episode of Chicago P.D. titled "Big Friends, Big Enemies". In 2017, Pauly played the roles of Betsy in Honeymoon in Vegas at the Marriott Theatre and Jovie in Elf at the Paramount Theatre.
In 2018, Pauly was cast as Valkyrie in the North American tour of .[18] The tour opened at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto on October 16, 2018, and was originally intended to run until July 7, 2019, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.[19] However, days after the tour was extended,[20] it was postponed and eventually canceled, with the cast playing their final show at the scheduled conclusion of the Toronto run on November 3, 2018. Pauly has stated that the experience nearly made her quit performing altogether.[6] In 2018, she portrayed Eva Perón as a principal at the Westport Country Playhouse.[21]
In February 2019, Pauly received callbacks for both Six and Evita and ended up being cast in both shows.[22] She made her debut as Katherine Howard in Six on May 14, 2019 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.[23] She temporarily left the show on June 23, 2019, to star as Eva Perón in Evita at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre from August 2 until September 21, 2019.[24] [25] [26] Pauly returned to Six in the Citadel Theatre production on November 1, 2019, and played the role for the rest of the North American tour.[27] She continued playing the role when the show transferred to the Lena Horne Theatre on Broadway, where it began previews on February 13, 2020.[28] The show was prepared to open on March 12, 2020, when all Broadway theatres were required to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29] Pauly returned to Six on September 17, 2021, when the show officially reopened.[30] [31] [32] A live cast recording of the musical featuring Pauly's vocals was released on May 6, 2022.[33] [34] The album was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023.[35] In June 2022, she, along with the other principal cast members of Six, received the Ensemble Award at the 2022 Drama Desk Awards.[36] She departed the production on December 4, 2022.[37]
In 2021, Pauly appeared as an ensemble member in the online benefit concert of Ratatouille the Musical.[38] Later that year, she was featured on the concept album for Little Black Book, a musical inspired by the life of Heidi Fleiss.[39] She also portrayed Ophelia in a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet in August 2021.[40] On February 4, 2022, Pauly appeared in a concert version of the musical A Girl I Know at Feinstein's/54 Below.[41]
Through August 22nd to August 27th 2023 Samantha Pauly played Mimi Marquez in Rent at the UC Davis Health Pavilion Theater at Music Circus on Broadway. In September 2023, Pauly was announced to be playing the role of Jordan Baker in a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby from October 12 to November 12, 2023. She had auditioned for the part in March 2023.[42] She reprised her role in the Broadway production at the Broadway Theatre when it opened on April 25, 2024.[42]
Pauly is married.[15] She adopted a retired racing greyhound named Dale.[43]
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Director(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Rent | Mimi Marquez | Toland Theatre | ||
| 2012 | Legally Blonde | Elle Woods | Circa '21 Dinner Theatre | ||
| 2015 | Beaches | Teen Cee Cee | Drury Lane Theatre | ||
| 2016 | Hairspray | Amber von Tussle | Paramount Theatre | ||
| 2017 | Honeymoon in Vegas | Betsy Nolan | Marriott Theatre | ||
| 2017–2018 | Elf | Jovie | Paramount Theatre | ||
| 2018 | Valkyrie | Ed Mirvish Theatre | |||
| 2019 | Six | Katherine Howard | North American tour | ||
| Evita | Eva Perón | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre | |||
| 2020–2022 | Six | Katherine Howard | Lena Horne Theatre | ||
| 2023 | The Great Gatsby | Jordan Baker | Paper Mill Playhouse | ||
| 2024–present | Broadway Theatre |
Television
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Ensemble Award | Six | ||
| 2024 | Broadway.com Audience Awards | Favorite Featured Actress in a Musical | The Great Gatsby |