Stephanie J. Block

Stephanie Janette Block (born September 19, 1972) is an American actress and singer known for her work in Broadway musicals. A three-time Tony Award nominee, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for *The Mystery of Edwin Drood* in 2013, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for *Falsettos* in 2017, and won as Best Actress in a Musical for *The Cher Show* in 2019. She is also a six-time Drama Desk Award nominee (and one-time winner) and has appeared on numerous cast recordings. In 2009, she released a solo album titled *This Place I Know*.

Block began her professional musical theater career in regional theater and played Belle in the Disneyland production of *Beauty and the Beast* in 1992. She made her Broadway debut in the 2003 original production of *The Boy from Oz*, portraying Liza Minnelli. Having read the part of Elphaba in the first reading of *Wicked* in 2000, she was the first actress to play the role in the U.S. touring production from 2005 to 2006, for which she won the Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress in a Non-Resident Production. She later reprised the role on Broadway from 2007 to 2008. Block received Drama Desk nominations for the Off-Broadway productions of *By the Way, Meet Vera Stark* (2011) and *Little Miss Sunshine* (2013), and for the Broadway productions of *9 to 5* (2009), *The Mystery of Edwin Drood* (2012), *Falsettos* (2016), and *The Cher Show* (2019).