She was the first ever recipient of Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of "The Blonde" in Marion Adler, Scott Wentworth and Craig Boehmler's film noir musical, Gunmetal Blues under the direction of Jiri Zizka. She reprised the role of "The Blonde" in Gunmetal Blues opposite Patrick Quinn at the George Street Playhouse.[2] She returned there to play "Diana" in Lend Me a Tenor, directed by David Saint.
She was the original "Trina" (Marvin's ex-wife) in William Finn's March of the Falsettos and In Trousers (Playwrights Horizons). She also did vocal orchestrations for both shows. She played "Miss Drumgoole" in Todd Rundgren's adaptation of Joe Orton's Up Against It (New York Shakespeare Festival), "Uta" in Charles Busch and Rusty Magee's The Green Heart (Manhattan Theatre Club), "Connie"/"Petula"/"Brenda" in Beehive at the Village Gate, and "Marion Ames" in Swingtime Canteen. In 1988, she appeared on Broadway in Romance/Romance, a musical starring herself and Quantum Leap star, Scott Bakula. For her dual-role as Josefine/Monica, Fraser received her first Tony Award Nomination. In 1991, Fraser appeared in The Secret Garden, a musical based on the children's story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. For originating the role of Martha, Fraser earned a second Tony Award Nomination. The Secret Garden also featured Mandy Patinkin, Daisy Eagan, John Cameron Mitchell and Rebecca Luker. Fraser stars in the one-woman show A Tennessee Williams Songbook conceived and directed by David Kaplan with musical direction by Allison Leyton-Brown. The show premiered at The Tennessee Williams Festival in Williams' birthplace of Columbus, Mississippi and went on to great acclaim at the annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. An original cast album titled Tennessee Williams: Words and Music was released on Sh-K-Boom Records in 2013.
In 2009, Arthur Laurents cast Fraser in an original play, Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are which premiered at the George Street Playhouse. The play was directed by Laurents himself and featured Tony-winning actress, Shirley Knight. Also with Knight, Fraser appeared in the 2012 world premiere of Tennessee Williams' final full-length play In Masks Outrageous and Austere.
In 2010, playwright and performer Charles Busch cast Fraser in his new comedy, The Divine Sister, a play satirizes the cinematic portrayal of nuns. Fraser played Sister Walburga. Fraser then originated the role of Arsinoe in David Ives' comedy The School For Lies at Classic Stage Company.
On December 16, 2013, Fraser joined the First National Tour of Wicked in the role of Madame Morrible.[7]
In 2015, Fraser appeared in four episodes of the Showtime television series Happyish as both Ma Keebler and Boots.
From October 6 to November 22, 2015, Fraser performed in the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's musical First Daughter Suite at the Public Theater, in the roles of Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford. For her performance, Fraser received nominations for both the Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.
In the fall of 2017, Fraser performed a limited run of playwright Aaron Mark's new play Squeamish. The one woman show was presented by All For One Theater (AFO) at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre. Squeamish ran October 6 – November 11, 2017.[8] For Squeamish, Fraser received a 2018 Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.[9]
In April 2021, AudioFile named Fraser a recipient of its Earphones Award for her audiobook narration of Alexander Nemerov's novel, Fierce Pose.[10]
In 2023, the Off-Broadway Alliance honored Fraser with its "Legend of Off-Broadway" award.[11]
Personal life
Fraser graduated summa cum laude in spring 2010 from Fordham University, where she now teaches a musical theatre course.
Fraser is the widow of composer and performer Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee,[12] with whom she has one son, Nathaniel Fraser Magee, who is an editor in New York City.
