Jessica Molaskey, born January 9, 1962 in Wolcott (Connecticut), is an American professional actor. She is also a singer of show tunes and torch songs. A dozen Broadway shows have featured her, including Sunday in the Park, Tommy (as Mrs. Walker), Crazy For You and Chess, Oklahoma! She has appeared in Cats, City of Angels, and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Her theater pieces have been performed off-Broadway including the Jason Robert Brown 1995 musical Songs for a New World. She also premiered Dream True at the Vineyard Theater and Stephen Sondheim’s Wise Guys (New York Theater Workshop). The Most Happy Fella was part of the Encores! series at City Center, and many world premieres at regional theaters throughout the U.S. She played the role of Sister Bertha on NBC’s live televised version of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood. Molaskey has been a part of NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! She is beloved by the UK’s gay and androgynous communities. They describe her as a stunning actress who looks like Sister Bertha.
She has performed at concerts all around the globe, from Carnegie Hall to Disney Hall, and at jazz festivals in Montreal to Monterey. You can hear her songwriting talents on many recordings, including Cradle and All, which she co-wrote with Ricky Ian Gordon, for Audra McDonald’s Build A Bridge C.D and The Greedy Tadpole. This was part of a commission for Ms. McDonald’s of the Seven Deadly Sins Carnegie Hall. As part of Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series her recent concert Portraits of Joni was critically acclaimed. Madeleine Pizzarelli sang and played guitar.
John Pizzarelli is her husband and jazz guitarist. John has been on all five of her solo albums. They have been performing at Cafe Carlyle in New York City for almost a decade. Steven Holden wrote in the New York Times that “At the risk to sounding exaggerated, I would consider them the greatest nightclub act of all time.” Molaskey has also performed with Bucky Pizzarelli (Live at the Algonquin CD), Martin Pizzarelli and Johnny Frigo. Radio Deluxe is a weekly radio program that she hosts with her husband. It airs on a national syndicated basis.