Sent: February 26, 2008 (Via Venue)
Received: April 7, 2008
Sent to:
Alice Ripley
c/o Second Stage Theatre
307 West 43rd
NY, NY
(Double check the address though)
No Longer Valid since March 16
Sent: Letter of Request, Stamp, Picture(s) of her in the Broadway Production of Sunset Boulevard
Received: Lovely, detailing note & Pictures signed return
Picture: (She did not sign the same signature twice...all three are different. One is in "spooky writing, the other in a fast print, and the other carefully signed? ..?)

Her note was really great...she told me that she loved both Glenn Close (original) and Elaine Paige as Norma (the final), and thought it was funny that they had to raise the steps/lower the banister when Elaine came to Broadway becuase she was too short to be seen over it! Along with that Fantine was "one of her favourite roles" to play on Broadway.
Ms. Ripley made her Broaday debut in "THE WHO's: Tommy" in 1993. In 1994, she was chosen from many hopefuls to replace Judy Kuhn as Betty Schaefer in ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER's "SUNSET BLVD" on Broadway, a role in which she held from Nov. 1994 until the show's closure in March 1997, 3 years, 3 Norma Desmonds, 2 legal battles, a finicial flop and 977 performances later (However she, George Hearn (Max) & Alan Campbell (Joe Gillis) all stayed with the show for the entire run). In a year with no other new musical opening, the 1995 Tony Awards seemed hopeful for Ripley, but she was sadly the only lead in the show who was not nominated for a Tony Away that year (Glenn Close, the original Norma won Best Actress that year). However, Ripley after the Sunset run, joined the original cast of SIDE SHOW, a musical about the famous cojoined Hilton sisters, and performed the role alongside Emily Skinner, and both, for one of the only times ever in history were both nominated as ONE for the 1998 Tony Award for best actress. Ripley also potrayed the role of FANTINE in the the original run of Les Miserables. Ripley + Skinner still remain great friends and have both released numerous CDs, and concerts, but are rarely seen together in shows. Ripley recently was in "NEXT TO NORMAL" at the Second Stage Theatre, a role which according to her note may reprise this fall in Washington, D.C.