Rebecca Luker

Rebecca Luker (April 17, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American actress, singer, and recording artist, noted for her "crystal clear operatic soprano" and for maintaining long runs in Broadway musicals over the course of her three-decade-long career. The New York Times compared her to actresses such as Barbara Cook and Julie Andrews. Beginning in regional theatre productions in the early 1980s, Luker made her Broadway debut in the original cast of The Phantom of the Opera as a Christine understudy and later took over the role as the principal actress. She would then originate the role of Lily in The Secret Garden on Broadway in 1991. She was nominated for three Tony Awards, for her performances as Magnolia in Show Boat (1994), Marian in The Music Man (2000) and Winifred in Mary Poppins (2006), another role that she created. She performed widely in theatre throughout her career and also gave concert and cabaret performances. She began acting in television in 2000 and made several films. Luker continued to act until the year of her death, at the age of 59, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She can be heard on more than 20 cast albums and various other recordings. Life and career Luker, the daughter of Martha (Baggett), a high school treasurer, and Norse Doak Luker, Jr., a construction worker, was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in the suburb of Helena. 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 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 Cohenour left the show. She performed opposite Cris Groenendaal and Steve Barton as the Phantom. 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 (2000–2001), 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.