Jennifer DiNoia

Jennifer DiNoia is an American singer and stage actress born on February 23, 1982, in Meriden, Connecticut. She began dancing at age three, and by age six had joined a national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I. She continued performing through her youth and later enrolled at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, where she majored in dance. After a summer internship at the Broadway Dance Center, she relocated to New York City to pursue stage work.

DiNoia's first professional credit came through the U.S. national tour of Mamma Mia!, where she performed in the ensemble and served as cover for the role of Ali. It was during this tour, in 2003, that she first heard "Defying Gravity" from the newly released musical Wicked, an experience that prompted her to begin her first professional singing lessons. The following summer, in 2004, she joined the Las Vegas production of We Will Rock You as a member of the original American ensemble cast, later becoming understudy for the lead role of Scaramouche.

After departing We Will Rock You, DiNoia auditioned for Wicked and was cast in the Chicago production, initially as a swing. She learned all nine dance parts in the show and became emergency cover for the lead role of Elphaba. In October 2007 she was elevated to the official Elphaba standby, covering Dee Roscioli and then Lisa Brescia. She remained with the Chicago company through its closing performance on January 25, 2009, a run that encompassed at least 1,500 performances.

Following the Chicago closure, DiNoia joined the Broadway production of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre, taking over the Elphaba standby position from Julie Reiber. Later that same year, in November 2009, she traveled to Sydney, Australia, to serve as emergency Elphaba standby for one month before returning to the Broadway company. She continued as Elphaba standby on Broadway until August 2011, when Donna Vivino replaced her in the role.

In June 2012, DiNoia joined Wicked's Asian touring company as an alternate Elphaba, performing in Seoul, South Korea, when lead Elphaba Jemma Rix was unavailable. This made South Korea the third country in which she had played the role. She briefly returned to the Broadway production as Elphaba standby in October 2012 before Vivino resumed the position one month later. In 2014, DiNoia also performed "Defying Gravity" at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics in New Jersey.

On April 3, 2013, DiNoia was cast as the lead Elphaba on the second national touring company of Wicked, known as the Munchkinland Tour, replacing Christine Dwyer. She appeared alongside Hayley Podschun as Glinda. Both performers exited the company on March 31, 2014, with DiNoia succeeded by Laurel Harris. Later in 2014, she served again as a temporary Elphaba standby on Broadway ahead of Lilli Cooper's assumption of the role.

In September 2014, DiNoia was announced as the next lead Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked in London, becoming the second American to play the role there following Idina Menzel. She officially replaced Kerry Ellis on October 27, 2014, performing opposite Savannah Stevenson as Glinda. Her London engagement concluded on January 31, 2015, when she was succeeded by standby Emma Hatton. The United Kingdom marked the fourth country in which DiNoia had portrayed Elphaba.

In February 2015, DiNoia joined the first national tour of Wicked in Los Angeles for a four-week engagement following the unexpected departure of Emma Hunton. She was part of the tour's final cast, with her run ending on March 15, 2015, when the tour closed after nearly ten years on the road. Days later, on March 19, 2015, she began a three-week stint as lead Elphaba in the Broadway production, succeeding Christine Dwyer, before Caroline Bowman returned to the role.

On August 1, 2016, DiNoia rejoined the Broadway production of Wicked as lead Elphaba, replacing Rachel Tucker. She remained in the role until July 29, 2017, and was succeeded by Jackie Burns. She returned to the Broadway company on June 4, 2019, once again serving as Elphaba standby. Following the production's post-COVID reopening in September 2021, DiNoia continued in the standby capacity and took over the role full-time from October through December 2021 while Lindsay Pearce recovered from an injury. Alyssa Fox replaced her as standby Elphaba in July 2022.

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2022, DiNoia stepped in as emergency cover for Elphaba, giving performances on November 26 and 27, and again on November 29. She then performed the role as emergency cover at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the second national tour from December 8 through 10, 2022, which marked her final performances as Elphaba. In August 2020, DiNoia was featured on the recording Broadway Sings Blood Rock: The Musical alongside Andy Mientus, Damon Daunno, and Robert Torti. She has a daughter, Joules Simeone Stassi, born on November 10, 2015.