Leslie Kritzer

Life and career

Kritzer was born in Manhattan and raised in Livingston, New Jersey. Her father is Jewish and her mother is of Puerto Rican ancestry. Kritzer was raised Catholic. A 1999 graduate of the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, she has appeared on Broadway in Hairspray and was the character Serena in Legally Blonde The Musical. Off-Broadway she was seen in The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Bat Boy and Godspell, and her regional credits include Vanities (Kathy), Babes in Arms (Baby Rose), and both Grease (Rizzo) and Funny Girl (Fanny) at Paper Mill Playhouse.

Kritzer starred in Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, a recreation of Patti LuPone's famed nightclub act. The show premiered at Joe's Pub and was conceived and directed by Ben Rimalower. She received a 2006 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for The Great American Trailer Park Musical, followed by a 2007 Special Achievement MAC Award for her show Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, and a 2007 Clarence Derwent Award for her performance as Serena in Legally Blonde.

Kritzer starred in A Catered Affair, portraying Janey Hurley, the character played by Debbie Reynolds in the 1956 feature film of the same name. A Catered Affair ran on Broadway from March 2008 through July 27, 2008. She starred in the Encores! staged concert presentation of On the Town in November 2008, as Hildy, the amorous and aggressive taxi driver.

In the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), she performed in Judas and Me in the role of the angel Gabriel. In March 2009 Kritzer played Monica in the Off-Broadway musical Rooms: A Rock Romance. In December 2009, she performed in the musical Pop! at the Yale Reportory Theatre. The musical is based on the life of Andy Warhol. Kritzer portrayed the role of "Valerie", a character based on Valerie Solanas.

In March 2010, she, along with Tom Wopat, Vanessa L. Williams, and Barbara Cook, starred in a new musical revue, Sondheim on Sondheim. The Roundabout Theatre Company limited engagement production opened on Broadway at Studio 54 on March 19, 2010 in previews and closed June 13, 2010. It was directed by James Lapine who conceived this revue of music by Stephen Sondheim.

In the 2015-16 season, Kritzker starred in two Off-Broadway productions. She starred in the Vineyard Theatre's production of Gigantic, which opened on December 3, 2015. Kritzker then starred as Salome in the 2016 Roundabout Theatre Company production of The Robber Bridegroom, which opened March 13, 2016. For her performance, she was nominated twice for the 2016 Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. She won the award for her performance in The Robber Bridegroom. She joined the principal cast of Something Rotten! on July 18, 2016.

Personal life

Kritzer married musical director Vadim Feichtner at New York City Center on February 22, 2013. The couple met at NYU, and began dating after the final performance of the Encores! production of On the Town in 2008, in which Kritzker starred. The two have worked together on multiple productions since.