Lesli Margherita

Margherita's film credits include Boogeyman 2, Lucky Stiff, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, and Opening Night.[2]

Upon graduation she appeared in the TV show Fame L.A.. Her television credits include NYPD Blue, Charmed, The District, On the Lot, The Suite Life on Deck, Major Crimes and Donny!.[2][1]

Margherita became involved with the musical Zorro through a Los Angeles workshop in 2006, which she initially turned down, and remained with the production through to the West End premiere in June 2008.[3] She garnered critical acclaim for her performance as Inez, with The Guardian's Michael Billington writing "the most flamboyant display of personality comes from Lesli Margherita who as Inez flashes her eyes and other parts of her anatomy with the gayest abandon".[4] At the 2008 Royal Variety Performance, she performed a number from the show before Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at the London Palladium, and can be heard on the Zorro Original London Cast Recording.[5] In 2009, Margherita was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for playing Inez.[6]

She appeared as Mrs. Wormwood in the Broadway production of Matilda the Musical, from March 2013 to September 2015 and again starting in September 2016.[7]

She played the role of Mona Kent in the Broadway premiere of Dames at Sea which opened in October 2015.[8] The USA Today review noted, "the actress plays the tyrannical vamp with infectious relish."[9]

She appeared as Cindy Lou Who in the Off-Broadway one person Who's Holiday! in November and December 2017.[1][10] She was nominated for the 2018 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Solo Performance; 2018 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Solo Show; and 2018 Off Broadway Alliance Award, Best Solo Performance.[11]

In regional theatre, Margherita appeared in Spamalot at the Sacramento Music Circus as The Lady of the Lake in 2010.[12][13] She appeared as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at La Mirada Theatre in La Mirada, California, from April to May 2011.[14] From July to September 2011, she appeared at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, in Show Boat as Julie.[15] She appeared in the new musical The Flamingo Kid at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut from May to June 2019. The Variety reviewer wrote, "Also standing out is Lesli Margherita as Phyllis, Phil’s long-suffering snob of a wife, who gets every laugh effortlessly with her deadpan delivery. She also nails her second act number, a good song with a terrible title".[16]

From January 19, 2020, to March 11, 2020, Lesli starred as Princess in the musical Emojiland at the Duke on 42nd Street theater in New York City.[17][18]

Margherita performed her concert/cabaret act at The Green Room 42 in New York City in December 2018.[1]