Gretha Boston

Gretha Denise Boston, born April 18, 1959, in Crossett, Arkansas, is an American mezzo-soprano, singer, and actress whose career spans classical performance and Broadway musical theater. Her early musical foundation was built through participation in the choir at Crossett High School and at Gates Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in music and performance from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, and subsequently attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Before transitioning to musical theater, Boston performed in classical settings, including a concert performance of Mozart's Coronation Mass (K. 317) with the Manhattan Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in November 1990. Her Broadway career ran from 1994 to 2001, and it was her stage debut that marked a turning point in her artistic direction. In October 1994, she originated the role of Queenie in the revival of Show Boat, directed by Hal Prince and staged at the Gershwin Theatre. That performance earned her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and a Theatre World Award, both in 1995.

Boston returned to Broadway with the original musical revue It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, for which she received a 1999 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical as well as a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. Her Broadway credits also include South Pacific.

Beyond Broadway, Boston appeared in the musical revue Let Me Sing — A Musical Evolution at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in December 2002, and took part in the staged concert Broadway By the Year, 1935 at Town Hall in New York City in March 2004. In January 2005, she played Velma in Crowns by Regina Taylor at the Studio Theatre in Buffalo, New York, a production that subsequently ran at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in July 2005. She also appeared in the revue 3 Mo' Divas! at Arena Stage in July 2006.