Karla DeVito

Karla DeVito is an American singer and actress born on May 29, 1953, in Mokena, Illinois. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox before enrolling at Loyola University Chicago, where she majored in theater. During her freshman year at Loyola, she joined the Chicago cast of Godspell, marking the beginning of a career that would span stage, screen, and recording.

DeVito's early training included study with Jo Forsberg at the Second City Company in Chicago during 1971–72, where she was part of the Second City Children's Theatre group alongside Bill Murray. In 1973, she appeared in the cast of the musical Hair. By 1972, she had joined the national company of Godspell, and she later became the lead singer of the band Orchestra Luna. In 1977, she was part of the cast of Jim Steinman's workshop production of Neverland, which ran at the Kennedy Center.

Shortly after Neverland, DeVito toured with Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman in support of the album Bat Out of Hell. She appeared in the music videos for "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and "Bat Out of Hell," with the original vocals performed by Ellen Foley. Following the tour, she appeared in an off-Broadway production of Cole Porter's Jubilee and in LaMama's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream before transitioning to Broadway.

Her Broadway career ran from 1971 to 1985 and included credits in Godspell, The Pirates of Penzance, and Big River. Her role in The Pirates of Penzance was the lead, and it was during that production that she met actor Robby Benson, whom she married on July 11, 1982. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter.

DeVito contributed vocals to Jim Steinman's solo album Bad for Good, appearing on the track "Dance in My Pants" and its accompanying music video. Her debut solo album, Is This a Cool World or What?, was released in 1981 and included the track "Bloody Bess," which was intended as part of a rock musical about a female pirate in the 17th century. Her second studio album, Wake 'Em Up in Tokyo, was released by A&M in 1986. Her song "We Are Not Alone" was featured in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club.

Beyond her solo recordings, DeVito contributed background vocals for Blue Öyster Cult and the band Sorrows, and she opened concerts for Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield during the 1980s. In 1990, she co-starred in the film Modern Love and sang on two tracks from its soundtrack. She voiced the character Officer Miranda Wright in the animated television series Bonkers beginning in 1993. In 2002, she sang the role of Elizabeth on the CD recording of Graham Russell's rock opera The Heart of the Rose. In 2016, she contributed vocals to Meat Loaf's album Braver Than We Are.