Ciara Renée

Ciara Renée Harper (born October 19, 1990) is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her roles on Broadway as The Witch in Big Fish, the Leading Player in Pippin, Jenna in Waitress, and Elsa in Frozen. She played Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Paper Mill Playhouse and La Jolla Playhouse. She starred as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in the CW series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, a spin-off of Arrow and The Flash. Her vocal type is mezzo-soprano.

Ciara Renée
Renée in Los Angeles, CA, 2019
Born
Ciara Renée Harper

(1990-10-19) October 19, 1990
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materBaldwin Wallace University (2013)
Occupation(s)Actress, musician
Years active2013–present

Early life

Renée was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[1] She attended Central Dauphin East High School and graduated with a degree in Music Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University in 2013.[1]

Career

In fall September 2013,[2] Renée made her Broadway debut at the Neil Simon Theatre as The Witch in Big Fish[3] after working in a pre-Broadway workshop of Bull Durham.[1] In February of the following year, she was cast in a revival of the musical Pippin, replacing Patina Miller as the Leading Player.[1] Renée guest-starred on Law & Order: SVU in the fall of 2014 on NBC.[4] Based on the Victor Hugo novel and animated Disney film of the same name, Renée took on the role of Esmeralda in a musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Paper Mill Playhouse in association with the La Jolla Playhouse from March 15 to April 5 of 2015,[5] a performance the NY Daily News described as "earthy and lovely".[6] In March 2015, it was announced that Renée had been cast as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in The CW's spin-off series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, an expansion of the network's existing universe of DC Comics adaptations.[4] She joined co-stars Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Franz Drameh, Dominic Purcell, Victor Garber, Wentworth Miller, and Arthur Darvill. Renée made a special guest appearance as Kendra Saunders on the first-season finale of The Flash on May 20, 2015.

In 2016, Renée played Susan in the Off-Broadway revival of Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical Tick, Tick... Boom!.[7] The production ran from October 20 to December 18.[8]

In the summer of 2017, she played Mary Magdalene in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri.

It was announced on January 15, 2020 that Renee will return to Broadway to play Elsa in Frozen beginning February 18.[9] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Broadway theatres were closed in March 2020. Disney later announced Frozen will not reopen after the lockdown is lifted.[10]

Renee replaced country singer Jennifer Nettles as Jenna in the Broadway musical Waitress on November 25, 2021.[11]

Filmography
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Señora Perez Episode: "Girls Disappeared"
2015 The Flash Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl 4 episodes
2015 Arrow Episode: "Legends of Yesterday"
2016 Legends of Tomorrow Main role, season 1
2017 Master of None Ellen Episode: "Le Nozze"
2018 The Big Bang Theory Sunny Morrow Episode: "The Conjugal Configuration"
2018 The Chinese Cop Candace Walker post-production
2023 Your Honor Janelle 4 episodes

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2023 Paint Ambrosia

Theatre credits
Year Title Role Dates Notes
2013 Big Fish Witch September 5, 2013 – December 29, 2013 Broadway
2014 Pippin Leading Player April 1, 2014 – September 14, 2014
Hamilton Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds May 2014 Workshop
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Esmeralda October 28, 2014 – April 5, 2015 Paper Mill Playhouse
2016 Tick, Tick...Boom! Susan October 20, 2016 – December 18, 2016 Off-Broadway
2017 Jesus Christ Superstar Mary Magdalene June 12, 2017 – June 18, 2017 The Muny
2019 The Wrong Man Marianna September 18 - October 27, 2019 Off-Broadway, Lucille Lortel Award nominee[12]
2020 Frozen Elsa February 18, 2020 – March 11, 2020 Broadway
2021 Waitress Jenna November 25, 2021 – December 20, 2021

References
  1. Dunkle, David N. (February 28, 2014). "CD East graduate Ciara Renee gains starring role in Broadway hit musical 'Pippin'". PennLive.com.
  2. Gioia, Michael (September 5, 2013). "Andrew Lippa and John August's Big Fish Swims Onto Broadway Beginning Sept. 5". Playbill. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  3. "Who's Who – Ciara Renee". PlaybillVault.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (March 30, 2015). "The Arrow/Flash Spinoff Casts Ciara Renée As Hawkgirl". Deadline.
  5. "The Verdict: Read Reviews of The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Playbill. March 16, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  6. Dziemianowicz, Joe (March 16, 2015). "'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' review: Disney's dark, angst-ridden cartoon comes to life". New York Daily News.
  7. Clement, Olivia (October 20, 2016). "Tick, Tick…Boom! Opens Tonight". Playbill. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  8. "Tick, Tick...BOOM!". Keen Company. Archived from the original on 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  9. Cruz, Araceli (23 January 2020). "Broadway's 'Frozen' is Getting a New Elsa and Ciara Renée Will be Playing the Beloved Character". wearemitu.com.
  10. Gans, Andrew (14 May 2020). "Broadway's Frozen Will Not Reopen Post-Pandemic". Playbill.
  11. Meyer, Dan (November 25, 2021). "Ciara Renée Stars in Broadway's Waitress Beginning November 25". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  12. "2020 Lucille Lortel Awards Nominees". lortelaward.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
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