Isabel Keating
American actress
title: "Isabel Keating" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1961-births", "actresses-from-new-york-(state)", "actresses-from-savannah,-georgia", "american-film-actresses", "american-musical-theatre-actresses", "american-people-of-moroccan-descent", "american-stage-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "drama-desk-award-winners", "living-people", "theatre-world-award-winners", "21st-century-american-women"] description: "American actress" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Keating" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actress ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Isabel Keating |
| image | IsabelKeating-byPhilipRomano.jpg |
| caption | Keating in 2025 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| yearsactive | 1984–present |
| website | |
| awards | Drama Desk Award, Theatre World Award, Helen Hayes Award |
| :: |
| name = Isabel Keating | image = IsabelKeating-byPhilipRomano.jpg | caption = Keating in 2025 | birthname = | birth_date = | birth_place = Savannah, Georgia, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | restingplace = | restingplacecoordinates = | othername = | occupation = | yearsactive = 1984–present | spouse = | domesticpartner = | children = | parents = | website = | awards = Drama Desk Award, Theatre World Award, Helen Hayes Award Isabel Keating (born May 1, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her performance as Judy Garland in the original Broadway production of The Boy from Oz, which earned her a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award.
Early life and career
Keating was born in Savannah, Georgia on May 1, 1961, Her first landing spot—or at least the first paying one—was with the Little Theatre of Savannah Mini-Rep Company, with whom Keating was performing children's theatre as early as the winter of 1983.
Broadway
Keating made her Broadway debut in 2003, in Enchanted April. She replaced Molly Ringwald in the role of Rose Arnott after having created the leading role of Lotty Wilton in the play's world-premiere production at Hartford Stage Company in Hartford, Connecticut.
Keating was widely acclaimed for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the 2003 Broadway production of The Boy From Oz, in which she starred opposite Hugh Jackman (who played Peter Allen). For her performance she received a Tony Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award{{cite web|url= https://www.broadway.com/buzz/93252/wicked-is-tops-at-2004-drama-desk-awards/ |title=Wicked is Tops at 2004 Drama Desk Awards |website=Broadway.com |access-date=30 December 2021}} and Theatre World Award.
She joined the Broadway cast of Hairspray, directed by Jack O'Brien, in the role of Velma Von Tussle in June 2006 and stayed with the production through August 2007.
Keating played Peter Parker's Aunt May and other characters in the Broadway production of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, directed by Julie Taymor.
From 2014 to 2015, Keating appeared on Broadway in Terrence McNally's hit comedy It's Only a Play, directed by Jack O'Brien.
She played Madame Morrible in Wicked on Broadway from January through November 2018 after performing the same role in the U.S. National Tour.
In 2024, she returned to Broadway in Doubt: A Parable as the understudy for Sister Aloysius, but later temporarily took over the role in early previews, replacing Tyne Daly, who departed the production after a medical emergency.
Other theatre
Keating has performed at Theatre Previews at Duke, where she starred in Gore Vidal's On the March to the Sea opposite Chris Noth, Charles Durning, Richard Easton, Michael Learned and Harris Yulin;{{cite web|last=Ross|first=Scott|url= http://www.cvnc.org/reviews/2005/022005/March.html|title=Gore Vidal's On the March to the Sea Is an Invigorating Civil War Drama|website=Classical Voice of North Carolina|access-date=1 March 2005}} at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, in Tom Stoppard's Travesties opposite Sam Waterston; and at the Paper Mill Playhouse, in Millburn, New Jersey, in Wendy Kesselman's stage version of The Diary of Anne Frank.
She won the 2000 Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress for her performance in Tom Stoppard's play Indian Ink at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Keating appeared as Vi in Lucinda Coxon's Waiting at the Water's Edge in its American premiere, directed by Nela Wagman for the Watermark Theatre Company,{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/08/theater/in-performance-theater-334545.html |title= In Performance; Theater |work=The New York Times |date=1994-06-08 |access-date=30 December 2021 | first=Ben | last=Brantley}} and played the Duchess of Berwick in the Oscar Wilde comedy Lady Windermere's Fan directed by Moisés Kaufman in 2005 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/theater/reviews/highflying-epigrams-whiz-by-like-arrows.html|title=High-Flying Epigrams Whiz By Like Arrows|access-date=30 December 2021 | work=The New York Times | first=Ben | last=Brantley | date=2005-07-11}}
Film and television
Keating co-starred in Indignation—James Schamus's feature film directorial début, based on Philip Roth's novel—opposite Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016 and was theatrically released on July 29, 2016.
She has guest-starred in episodes of 3 lbs (2006),{{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0883414/|title=3 lbs. Bad Boys (2006)|website=IMDb|access-date=19 December 2006}} Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2008),{{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1031388/|title=Law & Order: Criminal Intent Please Note We Are No Longer Accepting Letters of Recommendation from Henry Kissinger (2008)|website=IMDb|access-date=19 September 2008}} The Path (2016), and New Amsterdam (2021) and appeared in films including The Nanny Diaries and The Life Before Her Eyes.
Acting credits
Theatre
::data[format=table]
| Year | Show | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | La Ronde | Sweet Young Thing | The Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.) |
| 1986 | The Miss Firecracker Contest | Popeye | Bristol Valley Playhouse (Naples, NY) |
| 1986–1987 | The Slab Boys Trilogy | Lucille | The Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.) |
| 1989 | The Bright and Bold Design | ||
| 1990 | In Perpetuity Throughout the Universe | Christine | |
| 1994 | Waiting at the Water's Edge | Vi | Off-Broadway: The Ohio Theatre |
| Written and Sealed | Nancy | Off-Broadway: Puerto Rican Traveling Theater | |
| The Rise and Fall of Little Voice | Little Voice | The Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.) | |
| 1995 | Slavs! | Katarina | |
| Three Sisters | Irina | ||
| Chilean Holiday | Digna | Actors Theatre of Louisville (Louisville, KY) | |
| 1997 | One Foot on the Floor | LaVita Terrafamilia | Denver Center for the Performing Arts (Denver, CO) |
| 1998 | Once in a Lifetime | Florabel Leigh | Off-Broadway: Atlantic Theater Company |
| 1999 | Indian Ink | Flora Crewe | The Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.) |
| 2000 | Enchanted April | Lottie Wilton | Hartford Stage (Hartford, CT) |
| 2001 | Dinner with Friends | Beth | Old Globe Theatre (San Diego, CA) |
| 2003 | Enchanted April | Rose Arnott (replacement) | Broadway: Belasco Theatre |
| 2003–2004 | The Boy from Oz | Judy Garland | Broadway: Imperial Theatre |
| 2005 | Travesties | Nadya | Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT) |
| On the March to the Sea | Minna Hinks | Theatre Previews at Duke (Raleigh, NC) | |
| Lady Windermere's Fan | Duchess of Berwick | Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA) | |
| 2006 | The Diary of Anne Frank | Edith Frank | Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, NJ) |
| 2006–2007 | Hairspray | Velma Von Tussle (replacement) | Broadway: Neil Simon Theatre |
| 2009 | A Lifetime Burning | Lydia Freemantle | Off-Broadway: Primary Stages |
| 2010–2014 | Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark | Aunt May/Mrs. Gribrock/Maxie | Broadway: Foxwoods Theatre |
| 2014 | Travesties | Nadya | Bay Street Theater (Sag Harbor, NY) |
| 2014–2015 | It's Only a Play | Virginia Noyes/Julia Budder (standby) | Broadway: Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, |
| Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre | |||
| 2016–2017 | Wicked | Madame Morrible | U.S. National Tour |
| 2018 | Broadway: Gershwin Theatre | ||
| 2019 | Because of Winn Dixie | Franny Block | Goodspeed Opera House (East Haddam, CT) |
| 2024 | Doubt: A Parable | Sister Aloysius (u/s) | Broadway: Todd Haimes Theatre |
| The Queen of Versailles | Debbie Mallery | Emerson Colonial Theatre | |
| 2025 | Theatre People | Charlotte Sanders | Westport Country Playhouse (Westport, CT) |
| The Queen of Versailles | Debbie Mallery | Broadway: St. James Theatre | |
| :: |
Film and television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Dead Broke | Forensics Specialist | |
| Magnetism | Short film | ||
| 2004 | 58th Tony Awards | Herself | TV special |
| American Masters | Judy Garland | Episode: "Judy Garland: By Myself" | |
| 2006 | 3 lbs | Rosemary Donovan | Episode: "Bad Boys" |
| 2007 | The Nanny Diaries | Paranoid Mom | |
| The Life Before Her Eyes | Maureen's Mother | ||
| 2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Janine | Episode: "Please Note We Are No Longer Accepting Letters of Recommendation from Henry Kissinger" |
| 2016 | The Path | Jeanette Kemp | Episode: "Breaking and Entering" |
| Indignation | Miss Clement | ||
| 2021 | New Amsterdam | Mary Wheeler | Episode: "More Joy" |
| :: |
Awards and nominations
::data[format=table]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Helen Hayes Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Play | Indian Ink | |
| 2004 | Audie Award | Outstanding Achievement in Fiction Narration | Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews | |
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | The Boy from Oz | ||
| Theatre World Award | Outstanding Debut Performance in a Broadway Production | |||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | |||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | |||
| Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | |||
| :: |
References
References
- 1-55783-236-6. "KEATING, ISABEL. Born May 1, 1961 in Savannah, GA. Attended Lycee St. Gilles/Brussels. Debut OB 1989 in Underground Man." to a [[American South. Southern]] father and [[Moroccans. Moroccan]] mother. This background gave rise to an early knack for mimicking accents and, eventually, fluency in multiple languages. As she would tell [[Associated Press
- [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-island-packet/169774383/ "Final Super Sunday"]. ''The Island Packet''. March 1, 1983. p. 19. Retrieved April 7, 2025. "The final Super Sunday of the season will take place on March 6 at 2:30 p.m. at the Hilton Head Library. Members of the Little Theatre of Savannah Mini-Rep Company will perform a play for children, "'Tarradiddle Tales.' [...] The Mini-Rep Company is made up of R. Barrett Kemper Jr., Isabel Keating, Henry Steele, Priscilla Anderson and David Snowden. The director is Leslie Gordon."
- Hernandez, Ernio. (16 June 2003). "''Oz''{{'}}s Judy Garland Fills in at Broadway's ''Enchanted April''".
- "Isabel Keating, Star File".
- (10 May 2004). "2004 Tony Award Nominations Announced".
- Murray, Matthew. (11 May 2004). "2004 Theatre World Award Winners Announced".
- David, Cara Joy. (12 June 2006). "Haylie Duff is ''Hairspray''{{'}}s Next Amber; Aaron Tveit & Lisa Jolley Also Join Cast".
- "Isabel Keating".
- (16 August 2010). "Complete Cast Announced for ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark''".
- Gans, Andrew. (30 January 2018). "Broadway's ''Wicked'' Welcomes Isabel Keating and Martin Moran January 30".
- Gans, Andrew. (20 November 2018). "Broadway's ''Wicked'' Welcomes Nancy Opel and Jamie Jackson November 20".
- Gans, Andrew. (16 November 2016). "''Wicked'' Will Welcome Andy Mientus, Isabel Keating, and More".
- Culwell-Block, Logan. (February 6, 2024). "Tyne Daly Exiting Broadway Revival of Doubt; Amy Ryan Taking Over".
- Hernandez, Ernio. (14 April 2005). "Hewitt, Stephenson, Keating, More Join Sam Waterston for Long Wharf's ''Travesties''".
- "Nominees and Recipients".
- "Indignation (2016)".
- Fleming, Mike Jr.. (2016-03-24). "Roadside Attractions to Release James Schamus' Indignation". Deadline.
- "The Nanny Diaries (2007) Acting Credits".
- "The Life Before Her Eyes (2007)".
- Gans, Andrew. (26 July 2019). "''Because of Winn Dixie'' Star Isabel Keating's 5 Most Memorable Nights Onstage".
- Hernandez, Ernio. (2 May 2004). "''Wicked'', ''Wonderful Town'', ''I Am My Own Wife'' Top 2004 Outer Critics Circle Awards".
- Simonson, Robert. (14 May 2004). "''Wife'', ''Wicked'', ''Assassins'', ''Henry IV'' and Jackman Win 2004 Drama League Awards".
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