Paula Leggett Chase

PAULA LEGGETT CHASE is the daughter of Frankie and Charlie Leggett. She was born in Evansville, a smallish large town in southern Indiana where she grew up with her grandfather's harness horses and fell in love with singing gospel and bluegrass music in churches, PLC also pretended she was a mermaid in the clear waters of Kentucky Lake every summer, and participated in every school play and community show available to her.

After high school, she headed up to Bloomington, IN where she majored in voice and theatre at Indiana University and was an active leader in the acclaimed vocal group, The Singing Hoosiers.



Once PLC moved to NYC, she learned something about herself that would change her life profoundly--she needed to dance, wanted to dance, and, she was made for dance. Although she had been an gymnast (a very tall one!), in her youth and could clear a floor in a social setting with her moves, she hadn't had any significant formal training in dance. So, in her early twenties, she went on scholarship at STEPS in NYC, cleaning the bathrooms and studios at night in exchange for her classes. Dedicating herself to acquiring strong technique, particularly in ballet, she also immersed herself in other theatrical dance styles and her world and sense of herself, blossomed. With her comedic chops, strong voice and newly-found skills as a dancer, she began working nonstop:

Broadway: ON THE 20th CENTURY (Imelda Thornton), BYE BYE BIRDIE (Gloria Rasputan), CURTAINS,THE PAJAMA GAME, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, KISS ME, KATE, DAMN YANKEES, CRAZY FOR YOU, A CHORUS LINE. National Tours: CABARET (with Joel Grey), A CHORUS LINE (Judy Turner), Other NYC appearances include: QUEEN OF HEARTS (Princess Diana), APPLAUSE at Encores! PLC has played roles in the finest regional and stock theatres across the country. Her performance as Joan in DAMES AT SEA at the Marines Memorial Theatre in San Francisco earned her the Dean B. Goodman award for best Principal Performance. Her TV appearances include: Younger (Maggie Dunn),The Sound Of Music, Live (Baroness Elberfeld; nun) 30 Rock (“Randi” in the “Queen of Jordan” episodes); Law & Order (Judge Dorothy Parnell); Unforgettable, Bored to Death, Odd Mom Out, Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (Medeva the rhyming witch, PBS). In her young showgirl days, PLC appeared over a dozen times on THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman, doing everything from cooking mussells with Jacques Pepin to singing and dancing as a "Davette".

PLC has been a proud member of AEA since 1986. In 2006, she received the Distinguished Service Award from Indiana University's acclaimed Singing Hoosiers alumni group. In 2010, she was honored as a 25 year Broadway veteran by AEA. Tony Award winning choreographer and director, Kathleen Marshall gave the presentation.



PLC is married to Broadway dance arranger and music director David Chase. The Chases are raising their two sons, Kyler and Dashiell in Manhattan--which is a long way from southern Indiana! The Chases enjoy making music together and have their own family close-harmony gospel group. THE CHASE FAMILY creates their own arrangements; all four of them participate in the process--it's truly a family affair. They regularly perform for Christmas Eve services at Broadway Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, and for benefits around town. May the circle be unbroken!