Christy Altomare

Christy Altomare, born Christine Altomare on June 23, 1986, is an American actress and singer-songwriter from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She began performing in community theater at age five and went on to participate in choirs and school productions at Pennsbury High School. She then enrolled at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied musical theater and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 2004, while still a student, she was recognized as a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts winner in the musical theater category.

Altomare began writing songs at age twelve and signed with manager Edie Robb at sixteen. She has cited Jewel and Joni Mitchell as her primary musical influences. Her recorded output includes three independent releases: Not Yet Over You (2000), Waiting For You (2007), an EP titled After You (2008), and a later solo album of original music, Wandering Bird, released in April 2021.

Her professional stage career gained significant momentum in 2008 when she joined the first national touring company of Spring Awakening, playing the lead role of Wendla. Previews for the tour began on August 15, 2008, in San Diego, and Altomare remained with the production through its final performance on May 23, 2010, traveling to 44 cities and accumulating over 600 performances. Critics responded positively to her work; Seth Kubersky of Orlando Weekly described her as "appropriately innocent and adorable," while Eric Rezsnyak of the Rochester City Paper praised her "piercing, haunting soprano voice." Following the tour, she appeared as Sue Snell in MCC Theater's off-Broadway revival of Carrie at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, and can be heard on the production's cast recording released by Ghostlight Records.

Altomare made her Broadway debut on June 4, 2012, joining the cast of Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theater, where she replaced Liana Hunt in the role of Sophie Sheridan. She remained with the production for approximately one year, concluding her contract on June 1, 2013, and was subsequently replaced by Laurie Veldheer. In the fall and winter of 2014, she starred as Guinevere in the Drury Lane Theater's production of Camelot, running from October 30, 2014, through January 4, 2015.

On March 9, 2016, it was announced that Altomare would originate the title role in the world premiere of Anastasia, a musical adaptation of the 1997 animated film. The production first ran at Hartford Stage in Connecticut from May 13 to June 19, 2016, where her performance earned her the Connecticut Critics Circle Award. She then reprised the role on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theater, where previews began March 23, 2017, and the show officially opened April 24, 2017. Her Broadway performance brought her a Theatre World Award in 2017 and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical. During the run, she also produced a series of video blogs for Broadway.com titled Royal Misfits: Backstage at Anastasia with Christy Altomare. She remained with the production through its final Broadway performance on March 31, 2019, after 808 regular performances and 34 previews.

Following the close of Anastasia, Altomare played Nellie in a concert version of South Pacific at the Aspen Music Festival on July 22, 2019, and has performed regularly in the Broadway Princess Party concert series in New York City and on tour alongside fellow performers including Laura Osnes, Susan Egan, and Courtney Reed. In January 2020, it was announced she would star as Susan in the new musical The Wanderer at Paper Mill Playhouse, a production that was subsequently postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, she was cast as Scarlet in the world premiere of Noir on the Hubbard Stage of the Alley Theater in Houston, Texas, which ran from June 2 to July 3, 2022.

In her personal life, Altomare announced her engagement to Chris Crook on February 7, 2022. The two had attended middle school together before reconnecting after one of her performances in 2021. They married in September 2022 at the Lambertville Station in Lambertville, New Jersey, and have a son named Preston, born in mid-2023.