May 11, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "There are about 60 square blocks of the United States
in which Alice Ripley is a superstar," begins an article in the Pioneer Press of Minnesota's Twin Cities. "Outside of those blocks -- the
theater district in Manhattan -- she's virtually unknown, but she may be
changing that, one city at a time."
Ripley, a member of DePauw University's Class of 1985, won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical for her performance in Next to Normal. She's now on a national tour of the show, which is in St. Paul through May 22.
Chris Hewitt writes, "It's unusual for a Tony-winner to go on the road after her show closes on Broadway these days (Angela Lansbury did it with Sweeney Todd three decades ago), but Ripley says it's been a thrill to meet audiences around the country. And, when she says 'meet,' she's not just talking about communicating with them while she's on stage."
Ripley, who makes a habit of meeting fans at the stage door after her performances, tells the newspaper, "I grew up in a small town -- east of Cleveland, on a
farm -- and I didn't have many opportunities to see a Broadway-scale
production and/or performers, so I was happy to say yes to the tour
because then I get to meet those kids in small towns. Every
time I go to the stage door, they're there. They usually want to say
thank you, but I really want to thank them, because without them, I can't do it."
You'll find the full story at the Press' website.
A feature story on Alice Ripley in the June 7, 2009 New York Times noted her "nakedly anguished performance" in Next to Normal, which also won the Pulitzer Prize.
Ripley recently released a compact disc, Daily Practice, Volume One.