Merle Dandridge

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Merle Dandridge, 2019

Merle Dandridge (born May 31, 1975 in Okinawa , Japan ) is an American actress and singer . She has appeared in a variety of plays, including musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar , Spamalot , and Rent . Dandridge is also known for her recurring appearances on television series such as Sons of Anarchy and The Night Shift . In 2015, she landed the role of Grace Greenleaf in the drama series Greenleaf of the Oprah Winfrey Network .

Life

Dandridge was born in Okinawa , Japan . Her father was a member of the US military and was from Memphis , and her mother was a Japanese woman with Korean and Japanese roots living in Okinawa. In addition to Okinawa, Dandridge lived in Sacramento, California , at Beale Air Force Base and later at Offutt Air Force Base (home base of Strategic Air Command ) in Bellevue, Nebraska , where she spent most of her childhood. She attended Papillion La Vista High School and starred in a piece of school theater. She then attended the Roosevelt University Theater Conservatory (now the Chicago College of Performing Arts) on a scholarship she earned at the International Thespian Festival.

Career

Dandridge began her career with roles in Chicago plays. She became known to a larger audience through the role of Alyx Vance in the award-winning action computer game Half-Life 2 and its successors, Episode One and Episode Two ; also as Marlene in The Last of Us . On television, she began with guest roles on NCIS , 24 , Criminal Minds , The Newsroom, and Drop Dead Diva . She also played recurring roles in the drama series FX , Sons of Anarchy (as Rita Roosevelt) and, briefly, in the 2014 teenage soap Star-Crossed . In 2015 she starred Gwen Gaskin in the second season of NBC medical drama The Night Shift .

Also in 2015, Dandridge was able to assert himself against Lynn Whitfield in the casting of the leading roles in the drama series Greenleaf produced by the Oprah Winfrey Network . She plays the role of Grace Greenleaf, Greenleaf's estranged daughter.

Filmography

theatre

year title role theatre
1994 Once on this island Performer Chicago, IL
1994 Robber Bridegroom Rosamund Roosevelt University Chicago, IL
1994 As you Like It Rosalind Roosevelt University Chicago, IL
1997 Balm in Gilead Ann Gilead Theater Chicago, IL
1997 The Kentucky Cycle Performer Truman College (Chicago, IL)
1997 Company Kathy Chicago, IL
1997 Sweet and Hot Performer Theater Building Chicago, IL
1998 Heart and Soul Andrea Chicago, IL
1998 Richard II Performer Gilead Theater Co. Chicago, IL
1998 Ain't misbehavin European Tour
1998 Smokey Joe's Cafe swing National Tour
2000 Jesus Christ superstar Mary Magdalene Ford Center for the Performing Arts ( Broadway )
2001 Aida Nehebka National Tour
2002 Aida Aida (substitute actress) Palace Theater Broadway
2002-2008 Rent Joanne Jefferson Nederlander Theater Broadway
2003 Showtune: Celebrating the Words & Music of Jerry Herman Woman 2 Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena, CA
2006-2007 Tarzan Kala Richard Rodgers Theater Broadway
2008 Monty Python's Spamalot The Lady of the Lake Shubert Theater Broadway
2009-2010 Rent Joanne (substitute actress) USA National Tour

Video games

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b The Broadway League: Merle Dandridge - IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information . Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ DIVA TALK: Chatting with Spamalot's Merle Dandridge Plus Betty Buckley at Birdland . In: Playbill . Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Vlada Gelman: 'The Night Shift' Season 2 Cast - Merle Dandridge as Jordan's Best Friend - TVLine . In: TVLine . Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ Denise Petski: Lynn Whitfield, Merle Dandridge & Desiree Ross Join 'Greenleaf' - Deadline . In: Deadline . Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Tambay A. Obenson: Lynn Whitfield, Merle Dandridge and Desiree Ross Cast in - Shadow and Act . In: Shadow and Act . July 24th, 2015. Archived from the original on August 26th, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 27, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blogs.indiewire.com
personal data
SURNAME Dandridge, Merle
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 31, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Okinawa , Japan