Shoshana Bean

Shoshana E. Bean was born on September 1, 1977, in Olympia, Washington. Her parents, Jeff Bean and Felice Moskowitz, divorced when she was nine, leading her to move to Portland, Oregon. She graduated from Beaverton High School in 1995 and earned a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in 1999. Shortly after moving to New York City in 2000, Bean began her career in theatre, appearing in an Off-Broadway revival of Godspell.

Bean made her Broadway debut in 2002 as an original cast member in the Tony Award-winning production of “Hairspray,” originating the role of Shelley/Denizen of Baltimore and serving as an understudy for numerous lead roles. A significant career milestone occurred in 2004 when she joined the Broadway production of “Wicked” as a standby for Elphaba Thropp. Due to an injury sustained by Idina Menzel, Bean stepped into the role full-time in January 2005, performing as Elphaba until January 2006. She reprised this role for the first national tour of “Wicked” in 2006. In 2018, Bean performed in the New York City Center Encores! Off-Center production of “Songs for a New World.” In March 2019, she returned to Broadway as Jenna Hunterson in “Waitress,” extending her engagement through July 2019.

Her musical career began with the release of her debut solo album, “Superhero,” in 2008 through her label Shotime Records. Her second album, “O’Farrell Street,” released in 2013, achieved success, reaching No. 3 on the iTunes R&B charts. In 2018, her third album, “Spectrum,” featuring R&B songs, was released and supported by a tour including performances at the Apollo Theater and Cadogan Hall. She has arranged vocals for Jennifer Lopez, sung with Postmodern Jukebox, and performed with artists such as Ariana Grande and Brian McKnight. In 2022, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in “Mr. Saturday Night.” In 2024, she received two nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in “Hell’s Kitchen,” winning a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album with the latter.