Stephanie J. Block (born Stephanie Janette Block on September 19, 1972) is an American stage actress and member of Actors Equity and the Los Angeles Musical Theater Guild. She most recently played Grace "Grania" O'Malley in the Broadway show The Pirate Queen and reprised her role as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway. Block's last Broadway role was in the Dolly Parton musical "9 to 5" at the Marquis Theatre, New York. She played the role of Judy Bernly and co-stars with Megan Hilty and Emmy nominated Allison Janney. Block debuted on Broadway in 2003, playing the role of Liza Minnelli opposite Hugh Jackman's Peter Allen in the acclaimed musical The Boy from Oz. Immediately prior to this, she served as the understudy for Idina Menzel as Elphaba and was part of the ensemble in Wicked while the show was in its pre-Broadway tryout at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. Block had also worked with Stephen Schwartz on Wicked , as Elphaba, while the musical was still in early development - before Menzel became involved. In the spring of 2005, Block originated the role in the First National Tour of Wicked and performed with the company for a year. She was awarded the 2006 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production and the 2007 Carbonell Award for Best Non-Resident Actress for this role. Block recently reprised her role as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked. Block began her run on October 9, 2007 and replaced former US national tour Elphaba, Julia Murney. She left the company on June 15th, 2008 and was replaced by West End star, Kerry Ellis. Her many regional stage credits include Funny Girl, Crazy for You, Oliver!, James Joyce's The Dead, The Grass Harp, Bells Are Ringing (Reprise!) and I Love a Piano. Block was the original Belle in the Disneyland production of Beauty and the Beast and has done voice work for numerous commercial jingles, including the singing voice of Barbie. Block was most recently seen in the new Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil musical The Pirate Queen, in which she starred in the title role of Grania (also known as Grace O'Malley). She performed in The Pirate Queen in its tryout run in Chicago, Illinois as well as on Broadway. Ms. Block appeared in a benefit performance celebrating Andrew Lippa, and the 25th Anniversary of the internationally renowned performing troupe 'The Kids Next Door' at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA in Dec. 2006 (appearing alongside other 'KND' alumni Matthew Morrison, Terron Brooks, Kamilah Martin, Jessica Burrows and others). The performance benefited The California Conservatory of the Arts, a non-profit arts education organization providing pre-professional training for young performers, selected by audition, in southern California. Musical fact: Stephanie J. Block is a mezzo-soprano who attests to having a three-octave range with a low note of E3 (the lowest note in "I'm Not That Girl," a song from the musical Wicked). She married Wicked tour costar Sebastian Arcelus on October 25, 2007. Arcelus recently starred alongside Block in the Broadway company of Wicked from October to December 2007 (Block played the titular role of Elphaba and Arcelus played Fiyero). Block sang the "National Anthem" at the June 25, 2007 New York Mets game at Shea Stadium in Flushing, NY. She reprised her role in Wicked on Broadway opposite Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda for an eight-month run that began on October 9, 2007 and ended June 15, 2008.
