Paige McNamara

Paige McNamara is a Broadway performer whose stage career spanned from 2017 to 2022. Her verified Broadway credits include Les Misérables and A Night with Janis Joplin.

McNamara's involvement with A Night with Janis Joplin placed her within a production that had built a substantial history before and during her participation. The show, written and directed by Randy Johnson, is a musical built around the songs of singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, who lived from 1943 to 1970. It first mounted at Portland Center Stage in 2011 and subsequently toured North American venues before opening on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on October 10, 2013, where it ran for 140 performances before closing in February of the following year. The Broadway production was nominated for a Tony Award for lead actress Mary Bridget Davies.

Following its Broadway run, the show embarked on a North American tour beginning in 2015, making more than 130 stops across cities including Toronto, Los Angeles, Detroit, St. Louis, Austin, and Atlanta over the course of seven years. McNamara joined the touring production during this period, sharing billing with Francesca Ferrari during runs in May 2018. Davies returned to headline the production later that same year, leading performances from September through October 2018.

The musical features depictions of Janis Joplin alongside representations of her musical influences, including Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Odetta, Etta James, and Aretha Franklin, across 26 musical numbers. The production has continued beyond McNamara's tenure, traveling to Japan in August 2022 for performances at the Tokyo International Forum Hall, and announcing a West End engagement at the Peacock Theatre in London running from August 20 through September 28, 2024, with Davies again in the lead role.