Alysha Umphress (Mezzo Soprano) is a New York City based artist who is thrilled to be returning to Savannah after being honored with the gold medal at the 2023 American Traditions vocal competition. Ms. Umphress made a splash on Broadway starring as “Hildy” the man hungry cab driver in the critically acclaimed hit revival of On The Town. Other Broadway/Off Broadway credits include the original company of American Idiot (Grammy Award Winner for Best Musical Theater Album), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever starring Harry Connick Jr., the “Legendary soloist” in Bring it On!, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Scotland, P.A., and the revival of Smokey Joe’s Cafe which earned her a Lucille Lortel nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a Chita Rivera award for Best Ensemble. Outside of NYC, Ms. Umphress was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for Best Leading Actress for her portrayal of “Cee Cee Bloom” (a role made famous by Bette Midler in the film) in the world premiere musical adaptation of Beaches at the Tony award winning Signature Theatre. She is an associate artist at Barrington Stage Company where she has appeared in six productions and countless concerts over the past 16 seasons.
As a Principal Vocalist, Ms. Umphress has guested with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle in Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful Town (Ruth Sherwood) recorded on the LSO label and available to stream on Spotify, On The Town (Hildy) with the San Francisco Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, The Boston Pops, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Orchestre National de Lille and most recently with the Orchestra Teatro Regio Torino at the world famous Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Alysha has performed all over NYC at venues including Birdland, Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s 54 Below, The Carlyle, Sony Hall, Webster Hall, The Highline Ballroom, The Iridium, LPR and many more.
Recordings include I’ve Been Played: Alysha Umphress Swings Jeff Blumenkrantz, On The Town, American Idiot (Grammy Award Best Broadway Cast Recording), Fugitive Songs, Bring it On! (Legendary Soloist), 13 Stories Down, Whatever I Want It To Be (duetting with jazz superstar Jane Monheit) Alysha Umphress Live at the Laurie Beechman and the just released Alysha Umphress and Things…Like This (live from her sold out solo show at Joe’s Pub in 2022).
TV credits include Chicago Med, Blue Bloods, Girls5Eva, The Climb, Law and Order SVU, Nurse Jackie, Royal Pains and as “Murphy” on 2 seasons of the Emmy nominated Netflix series Bonding. She can be seen as “Zoe” in the online Olay musical campaign. She has made guest appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Late show with David Letterman, The Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon, The 52nd annual Grammy Awards, and the 64th and 69th annual Tony Awards
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Umphress attended high school as a vocal major at the prestigious School of the Arts. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory.