Lana Gordon

Lana Jean Gordon is an American actress, singer, and model born in New London, Connecticut, whose career has spanned Broadway productions, international theatrical tours, recording work, and modeling.

Gordon's formal training began in 1989 when she studied dance at the Alvin Ailey School in New York City on a scholarship. She subsequently spent more than three years performing with a repertory ensemble directed by Sylvia Walters, then joined Donald Byrd's ensemble The/Group. In the summer of 1994, she traveled to Yokkaichi, Japan, where she spent three months as a soloist at a restaurant and lounge, performing popular standards and show tunes. Later that same year, she took on the role of Dionne in a European tour of the musical Hair.

Gordon made her Broadway debut in 1997 as a member of the original cast of The Lion King, a production in which she performed for approximately two and a half years in an ensemble role that included playing a cheetah, as well as understudying the role of Nala. She was subsequently invited to return to the production in the role of Shenzi. Also during this period, she joined the cast of the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar as an ensemble member. Her Broadway work continued with Chicago, in which she played Velma Kelly across multiple engagements between 2017 and 2023, and Hadestown, in which she portrayed Persephone in 2021 and again in 2022 and 2024.

Beyond Broadway, Gordon's stage career has included extensive international touring. From 2003 to 2008, she performed the role of Anita in West Side Story across European and Asian tours. Her other theatrical credits include The Minstrel Show in 1993, Tommy in 1995, Beggars Holiday in 1996, Odysseus in 1997, Carmen Cubana in 2007, Tarzan in 2009, and various productions of Chicago in Stuttgart and elsewhere. In 2020 and 2021, she voiced the role of the Oracle in the science fiction musical audio series The World to Come.

Gordon's recording output includes her contribution to the original Broadway cast recording of The Lion King in 1997 and the Carmen Cubana album in 2006. She has also released multiple singles, among them "Garden of Love" in 2006, several tracks in 2007 and 2008, and "Yes!," which served as a campaign song for Western Union, in 2009. In addition to her stage and recording work, Gordon has worked as a model in the United States in both print and television advertising, and has pursued a solo singing career in Europe.