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Who Played Nurse in Medea

Nurse is a role in Medea, a play that opened Broadway in 1994.

Immortalized by Euripides, the story of Medea has inspired numerous literary and musical works. Medea, the mythological sorceress and priestess of Hecate, murders her children when her husband, Jason, whom she had assisted in his successful quest for the Golden Fleece, repudiates her because he wishes to marry another woman. Traditional renditions of the story have portrayed Medea as a demonic figure, but Cherubini and his librettist, François-Benoit Hoffmann, while conveying the sheer horror of Medea's actions, bring out the humanity of a woman who is driven to unspeakable crimes by unbearable pain. In the France of 1797, the story of Medea could have easily been interpreted as an allegory of the Revolution who devours her own children. Cherubini's work is a brilliant synthesis of several types of opera: opéra comique, tragédie lyrique, Gluck's operatic style, and the allegorical opera of the French Revolution. In this opera, Cherubini's mastery of harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration -- which often anticipates the orchestral sound of Beethoven -- truly comes to the fore. Cherubini's peerless handling of musical form and drama rewards the listener with an extraordinary operatic experience. Beethoven admired Cherubini above all his contemporaries, and Medea was not only a source of inspiration but a model as well for Fidelio.

11 actors have played Nurse in Medea.

View full cast of Medea

Performer Production Opened
Janet Young Broadway Medea 1920
Florence Reed Broadway Medea 1947
Hilda Vaughn Broadway Medea 1949
Florence Tarlow Broadway Medea 1973
Tally Brown Broadway Medea 1973
Barbara Lester Broadway Medea 1982
Judith Anderson Broadway Medea 1982
Janet Henfrey Broadway Medea 1994
Tanny McDonald Broadway Medea 1994
Aidan Sullivan Broadway Medea 2002
Siobhan McCarthy Broadway Medea 2002

Other Roles in Medea

Role Production Opened
Aegeus Broadway Medea 1994
Child Broadway Medea 1994
Creon Broadway Medea 1994
Jason Broadway Medea 1994
Medea Broadway Medea 1994
Messenger Broadway Medea 1994
Nurse Broadway Medea 1994
Tutor Broadway Medea 1994
Woman of Corinth Broadway Medea 1994

“Nurse” Also Appears In

Production Type Year
& Juliet West End 2021
South Pacific West End 2011
Equus Broadway 2008
Celia Off-Broadway 2007
Well Broadway 2006
A Streetcar Named Desire Broadway 2005
Pardon My English Off-Broadway 2004
After The Fall Broadway 2004
Romeo and Juliet Off-Broadway 2001
Parade Broadway 1998
Jekyll & Hyde Broadway 1997
The Who's Tommy Broadway 1993
Titus Andronicus Off-Broadway 1989
Medea Off-Broadway 1986
Sunday in the Park with George Broadway 1984
Piaf Broadway 1981
Wings Broadway 1979
Scapino Broadway 1974
Your Own Thing Off-Broadway 1968
Little Me Broadway 1962
Earl Carroll's Sketch Book [1935] Broadway 1935
Merry-Go-Round Broadway 1932
The Lady with a Lamp Broadway 1931
Love for Love Broadway 1925
Algeria Broadway 1908
The Time, the Place and the Girl Broadway 1907
Punch, Judy & Company Broadway 1903

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