Meet Our Host: Kelli O’Hara
Kelli O’Hara, star of stage and screen, has established herself as one of Broadway’s greatest leading ladies. The Tony Award winner, Emmy and Grammy-nominated actress has appeared in twelve Broadway shows for which she has garnered eight Tony Award Nominations.
She won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Grammy, Drama League and Outer Critics nominations for her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in “The King and I”. She then reprised the role while making her West End debut garnering a prestigious Olivier Nomination for her performance. O’Hara was awarded the Drama League’s Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award in 2019.
O’Hara received an Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Katie Bonner in Topic’s hit web series, “The Accidental Wolf”, and can currently be seen as Aurora Fane on HBO’s critically acclaimed series, “The Gilded Age”. Her extensive Broadway credits include “Kiss Me Kate” (Tony, Drama League, OCC nominations), “The Bridges of Madison County” (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), “Nice Work If You Can Get It” (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), “South Pacific” (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), “The Pajama Game” (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), “The Light in the Piazza” (Tony & Drama Desk nominations), “Sweet Smell of Success”, “Follies”, “Dracula”, and “Jekyll & Hyde”.
In 2024, O’Hara returned to Broadway in The New York Times ‘Critics Pick’, new musical, “Days Of Wine And Roses”. This production, which garnered rave reviews during its Off-Broadway run at The Atlantic Theatre Company last summer, has been a labor of love for O’Hara and composer Adam Guettel.
I have been inspired for 20 years by the work SAY has been doing. As a parent and a person who has benefited from using my voice to express myself all my life, I want to do everything I can to support an organization for kids that honors their self-expression and helps them find their voices.