Rebecca Luker

Rebecca Luker
Luker at the NYS ARTS Fall Gala 2008
Born	(1961-04-17) April 17, 1961 (age 55) Helena, Alabama, U.S.
Education	University of Montevallo, 1984
Occupation	Actress, singer, recording artist
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Danny Burstein (2000-present)
Children	2
Website	www.rebeccaluker.com

Rebecca Luker (born April 17, 1961) is an American actress, singer, and recording artist who has appeared in several musical theatre productions on Broadway. Luker's voice type is soprano. The New York Times has compared her to actresses such as Barbara Cook and Julie Andrews. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards, and she is featured on opera star Plácido Domingo's recording, The Broadway I Love (1991).

Luker was born in Helena, Alabama, the daughter of a high school treasurer and a construction worker. She attended the University of Montevallo, earning a BA in music, taking a year off in 1984 to perform in Sweeney Todd as Johanna Barker (also starring Judy Kaye as Mrs. Nellie Lovett) at the Michigan Opera Theatre.

Luker's Broadway debut was in The Phantom of the Opera in the role of Christine (1988-91). She was originally an understudy for principal actress Sarah Brightman and her alternate Patti Cohenour. Luker later took over the role after Brightman, and later Cohenour, left the show. Subsequent Broadway roles include Lily in The Secret Garden (1991–93), Magnolia in Show Boat (1994–97; the first actress to be nominated for a Tony Award for this role), Maria in The Sound of Music (1998–99), Marian in The Music Man (2000–01), and Claudia in Nine (2003). She played the role of Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins from 2006 to 2010. She later replaced Victoria Clark as Crazy Marie/the Fairy Godmother in the Broadway production of Cinderella for an engagement that lasted from September 2013 to January 2014. Luker joined the cast of Fun Home at the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway, temporarily assuming the role of Helen Bechdel from April 5, 2016 to May 22, 2016.