Lenora Nemetz

Career

Nemetz left her native Pittsburgh as a teenager to work on Broadway. She performed her way across the country for the last three decades, starting with her Broadway debut in Cabaret. A protégé of Bob Fosse, Nemetz first came to the attention of New York critics when she replaced Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly in Fosse's production of Chicago. She went on to create the role of Delores Dante in the Broadway production of Working, winning a Drama Desk Award nomination. She co-starred with Peter Allen in his one man show Up in One both on Broadway and in Los Angeles. Nemetz co-starred with Chita Rivera as Angel in The Rink filling in for Liza Minnelli. She made her New York City opera debut in the role of Gladys in the revival of The Pajama Game. National tours include Sweet Charity, Bye Bye Birdie, and Some Like it Hot. Nemetz is a prominent actress in Pittsburgh theatre, having appeared in productions at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, City Theater, and Pittsburgh Public Theater.

In a posting on the BroadwayWorld.com message board dated 4/13/07, Nemetz recalls how she got to play both Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly on the same day during the original production of Chicago:

"I replaced Chita, with Ann Reinking and with Gwenn [sic] (Verdon)," she said, "and I played both roles - I stood by for both Gwenn [sic] and Chita, and they were kind enough to let me play both roles in the same day. At the matinee I played Velma Kelly and in the evening performance I played Roxie Hart. It was so thrilling!"

Performances