Rebecca Luker
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Luker sang in the church choir when she was a child, later trying out for a high school production of "Go, Ask Alice," only to be told by her drama teacher that she wouldn't be convincing as a drugged-out teen because of her long blonde hair and apple-pie looks. After graduation, she attended the University of Montevallo as a music major and performed in numerous college stage productions. She took a year off to work with the Michigan Opera Company, but returned and earned a Bachelor's of Music degree before heading to NYC to pursue her theatrical career. While she was hoping for her big break in the Big Apple, Luker worked as a waitress at Windows on the World. Her life changed radically two years after she arrived in the city, though, when she was cast in the ensemble of Andrew Lloyd Webber's monstrously popular "The Phantom of the Opera." Eventually she understudied the part of Christine and assumed the leading soprano role when Patti Cohenour left in 1989. (Ironically, Cohenour played Mother Abbess to Luker's Maria in the 1998 revival of "The Sound of Music.")Luker followed her success in "Phantom" by playing Lily, the beautiful ghost who haunts "The Secret Garden" (1991) opposite Mandy Patinkin. Although the show got mixed reviews from the critics, audiences and reviewers raved about her performance. From there, she played Magnolia in Harold Prince's revival of "Show Boat" (1994), a critically acclaimed performance that earned her a Tony nomination. In 1995, the actress went to California to co-star in the highly anticipated musicalization of "Time and Again," Jack Finney's cult novel of romance and time travel. Although she and co-star Howard McGillan earned raves, there were numerous problems with the book and the show's Broadway engagement was cancelled. Two years later, Luker again headed west, this time for a workshop of Barry Manilow's opus "Harmony." where she played the romantic lead opposite Danny Burstein, the man who would become her live-in boyfriend in 1998. Luker took on another wholesome, immensely appealing role in 2000, when she starred in the revival of "The Music Man" and earned her second Tony nomination. That same year, she made her TV-movie debut in CBS' "Cupid and Cate" opposite Mary Louise-Parker and Peter Gallagher. She received good notices for her first major TV appearance, which had her playing one of four sisters struggling with issues regarding family and love. Rebecca Luker died on December 23, 2020 in Manhattan, NY at the age of 59.