Biografia
Melissa Errico, an actress and singer known for her work in television, film, and theater, will join the cast of Billions, an upcoming Wall Street drama created by Brian Koppelman, David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen, Runaway Jury, Runner Runner), and Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big to Fail).
Errico has performed on Broadway, network TV, and in films, and is also a noted recording artist and concert performer. While she is celebrated for her acclaimed Broadway roles, she stands out for her diverse career, which includes non-musical roles in plays by Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and Wallace Shawn, among others.
A Yale University graduate, Errico appeared in Chekhov's Three Sisters alongside Ed Norton and Alessandro Nivola during her studies. Recently, she has taken on strong dramatic roles in television and film, including a recurring role as Catherine on Stephen Soderbergh's Cinemax series The Knick, and guest appearances on Blue Bloods and The Good Wife. Her Broadway credits include leading roles in My Fair Lady, Dracula, White Christmas, High Society, Les Misérables, Anna Karenina, and Amour, the latter earning her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress. She has also starred in Stephen Sondheim's Passion and Sunday in the Park with George. Errico has released three studio albums: Blue Like That (EMI Records), produced by Arif Mardin; Legrand Affair (Ghostlight), produced by Phil Ramone; and Lullabies and Wildflowers (VMG/Universal Records), produced by Rob Mathes. She regularly tours with symphony orchestras worldwide.
In 2003, Errico was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a musical for Michel Legrand’s Broadway debut, Amour. In 2005, she released an album with Legrand at the piano and arrangements, produced by Phil Ramone. This was her second solo studio album, following Blue Like That, produced by Arif Mardin for Capitol Records EMI. That year, she appeared in the film Loverboy, directed by Kevin Bacon and featuring Kyra Sedgwick, Sandra Bullock, and Campbell Scott. During the 2004-2005 Broadway season, Errico starred in Dracula and appeared in two off-Broadway revivals: Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon with Lili Taylor, and Finian's Rainbow with Malcolm Gets, which was recorded on Ghostlight Records.
Melissa holds a BA in Art History and Philosophy from Yale University. She made her acclaimed Broadway debut in Anna Karenina at Circle in the Square, leaving Yale Graduate School of Acting to pursue her career. At 18, as a freshman at Yale, she landed the lead in the National Touring Company of Les Misérables. Her theater career quickly expanded with roles in Anna Karenina, followed by her acclaimed portrayal of Eliza Doolittle in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady opposite Richard Chamberlain, a role she reprised in 2003 at The Hollywood Bowl with John Lithgow, Roger Daltrey, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Other Broadway credits include Cole Porter's High Society, Michel Legrand's Amour, and Dracula. After a season as Alex Bartoli in the CBS series C.P.W. (1995), she earned critical acclaim for her playful and seductive portrayal of Venus in Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus at City Center, a role she reprised at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. As a member of the Irish Repertory Theater, she has appeared in Major Barbara with Boyd Gaines, and The Importance of Being Earnest opposite Eric Stoltz and Nancy Marchand.
Her recent television work includes roles such as Laurel on Miss Match (2003), appearances on Law & Order (1990), The Norm Show (1999), and as Ed's ex-wife on Ed (2000). In film, she starred alongside Angelina Jolie in Twentieth Century Fox's Life or Something Like It (2002) and Jim Caviezel in New Line Cinema's Frequency (2000). She has also featured in independent films like Bury the Evidence (1998) with Karen Black, and the intense docu-drama Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001) with Sean Young.
For The Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration (2002), Stephen Sondheim selected Errico to star in Sunday in the Park with George opposite Raúl Esparza, leading to a sold-out concert at Avery Fisher Hall and a 2003 Helen Hayes nomination for Best Leading Actress. Her theater accolades include four Drama Desk nominations, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, five Drama League honors, and a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actress in One Touch of Venus.
Errico has performed solo in prestigious Manhattan and Los Angeles cabaret venues such as The Café Carlyle, The Oak Room, and Feinstein's. She frequently appears with her band at Joe's Pub, The Cutting Room, Symphony Space, and Wolf Trap in Washington, D.C. Her concert career began with a month-long run in May 2000 at Joe's Pub in New York, titled Real Emotional Girl: Melissa Errico Sings the Music of Randy Newman, honoring her collaboration with Newman on the musical Faust. In March 2002, she opened a three-week show, New Standards, with pianist Lee Musiker at The Café Carlyle, featuring jazz and contemporary standards by Michel Legrand, Joni Mitchell, and Oleta Adams. In 2004, she enjoyed a successful month at The Oak Room at The Algonquin with Spring Fever, collaborating for the first time with James Taylor’s pianist Clifford Carter in a program featuring original music by her brother and reinterpretations of classics by Van Morrison, Billy Joel, Eddi Reader, and James Taylor, backed by a five-piece band.
On February 25, 2003, Melissa released her debut album, Blue Like That, on Capitol/EMI, featuring twelve tracks produced and arranged by legendary producer Arif Mardin. The album includes jazz pianist Alan Pasqua and her brother, Mike Errico, on guitar and vocals, who also contributed two original songs. Her follow-up album was created in collaboration with Michel Legrand and Phil Ramone.
