Herstory

Madeline started acting in musicals at the age of 10 (The Artful Dodger, Oliver!) and, save for a few pauses along the way for degrees and such, never stopped. Her professional acting history is largely in theatre but she’s added film/television/commercial and voiceover work more recently. She is as adept at larger-than-life characters as she is at subtle, honest portrayals because she understands that acting truthfully simply means paying attention as the character would pay attention. Madeline has sung jazz professionally since college and writes/performs original music and standards, mostly for her cat and some open mic audiences in Queens.

Madeline is currently loving bringing the Scottish Mrs. Pearce to life across the country in Bartlett Sher’s National Tour of My Fair Lady. Favorite recent roles include Sister in Why I Live at the Post Office, Miss Hannigan (Zoom production of Annie!), Eva Peron (Evita), Clairee Belcher (Steel Magnolias), Aunt March (Little Women), Professor Faber (451), Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing), Slightly Soiled in Peter Pan, and Dr. Livingstone (Zoom production of Agnes of God), as well as an all-day marketing stint as Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Madeline’s comic/improv chops are as strong as her dramatic. Although a very physical actor (understudied Peter Pan at regional theatre), she is frequently cast as the older, intelligent, often upscale "bitch-with-a-heart-of-gold" type. What she actually IS like is Liz Lemon in 30 Rock (i.e., she would use a scented candle for deodorant in a heartbeat).

Madeline has filled out her performance life with 2 years of Peace Corps Service (Eldoret, Kenya, 1986-1988), Masters degrees in theater and clinical psychology, raising a salt-of-the-earth young man, and professions as a teacher/director and therapist. She is service-oriented and, when not on tour, continues to volunteer for organizations like Unchained at Last, Meals on Wheels, and Musicians on Call.