Lesli Margherita


Lesli Margherita is an American stage and screen actress. In 2009, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her performance as Inez in Helen Edmundson's musical, Zorro.

Biography

Margherita was born and raised in California and graduated from UCLA.

Screen

Margherita's film credits include Boogeyman 2, Lucky Stiff, , and Opening Night.
Upon graduation she appeared in the TV show Fame L.A.. Her television credits include NYPD Blue, Charmed, The District, On the Lot, The Suite Life on Deck, Major Crimes and Donny!.

Theatre

Margherita played Inez in Helen Edmundson's musical Zorro in the West End in 2008, winning the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. The Guardian reviewer wrote: "...the most flamboyant display of personality comes from Lesli Margherita who as Inez flashes her eyes and other parts of her anatomy with the gayest abandon."
She appeared as Mrs. Wormwood in the Broadway production of Matilda the Musical, from March 2013 to September 2015 and again starting in September 2016.
She played the role of Mona Kent in the Broadway premiere of Dames at Sea which opened in October 2015. The USA review noted:
"the actress plays the tyrannical vamp with infectious relish."
She appeared as Cindy Lou Who in the Off-Broadway one person Who's Holiday! in November and December 2017. She was nominated for the 2018 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Solo Performance; 2018 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Solo Show; and 2018 Off Broadway Alliance Award, Best Solo Performance.
In regional theatre, she appeared in Spamalot at the Sacramento Music Circus as The Lady of the Lake in 2010. She appeared as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at La Mirada Theatre, La Mirada, California, in April to May 2011. In July to September 2011 she appeared at the Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, Connecticut in Show Boat as Julie. She appears in the new musical The Flamingo Kid at the Hartford Stage, Connecticut, in May to June 2019. The Variety reviewer wrote: "Also standing out is Lesli Margherita as Phyllis, Phil’s long-suffering snob of a wife, who gets every laugh effortlessly with her deadpan delivery. She also nails her second act number, a good song with a terrible title..." From January 19, 2020 to March 19, 2020, Lesli will star as "Princess" in at Duke on 42nd Street theater in New York City.

Concerts

She performed her concert/cabaret act at The Green Room 42 in New York City in December 2018.