"Live. Be the Best Human You Can be so You can be a Freer Artist." - Chatting with Maria Rizzo!
Maria Rizzo.
Kevin Ray Johnson, Staff Writer
I would like to introduce you to Maria Rizzo. Maria will be performing as Cinderella's Stepmother in Into the Woods at Signature Theatre in Virginia, Directed and Choreographed by Signature Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. At Signature, Maria has also performed in She Loves Me, A Chorus Line, Assassins, Grand Hotel, Crazy for You, A Little Night Music, The World Premiere of The Gulf, West Side Story, Cabaret, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Xanadu, and Louis in Gypsy which earned her a Helen Hayes Award Nomination. Maria has also earned two additional Helen Hayes Award Nominations for her performances of Sally Bowles in Cabaret and Roxie Hart in Chicago (for which she won the Helen Hayes Award). She has also performed regionally with Arena Stage, Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, Toby's Dinner Theatre, and Arkansas Rep Theatre.
Maria is a true staple in the DC Theatre scene and is someone truly worth the price of admission. Seeing her perform on a number of occasions I can truly attest that in every show she is a part of, she makes it 100% better. I am very honored to have the chance to feature Maria Rizzo!
How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a Performer
I don’t remember the exact moment but my passion I know came at a very young age.
Where did you study? Are there any mentors that helped make you the Performer you are today?
I studied theatre at Catholic University’s music school. I’ve had incredible teachers throughout my life- College professors like Jane Pesci Townsend and DC artists, directors, and creatives who continue to teach me far into the present.
Into the Woods is arguably one of the greatest musicals ever written. How has your time been with this wonderful Sondheim classic at Signature?
I don't know what there is to argue. You are 100% right. Like many of us, my time with this show far precedes our first rehearsal. I hope for every theatre artist to be as inspired by anything like the PBS stage broadcast of Into the Woodsstunned 10-year-old me. I’m happily sharing that sentiment with so many.
Are there any other shows, performances, or moments in your career that will always stick out and be near and dear to your heart?
Fiddler on the Roof at Arena Stage, when I fell in love with my husband, and Crazy For You at Signature Theatre, when he proposed.
(Maria's Husband is DC Area Actor and Helen Hayes Award Nominee Kurt Boehm. Kurt will also be performing in Signature Theatre's upcoming production of Into the Woods where he'll be playing "The Steward").
Maria with her Husband Kurt Boehm.
What advice would you give any young artist who would like a career in the performing arts?
Live. Be the best human you can be so you can be a freer artist.
Into the Woods at Signature Theatre opens on November 8th, 2022, and will run until January 19th, 2023. For more information make sure you visit - https://www.sigtheatre.org