About me!
Hello! Thank you for taking the time to visit my website! My name is Elissa and I am a graduate of Muhlenberg College (a small liberal arts school in Pennsylvania that I’m sure you’ve heard of). I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, so job hunting is a little more intense, to say the least. I grew up in Manhattan Beach California, a beautiful little beach suburb of Los Angeles. I currently reside in NYC, but really consider myself bi-coastal, as my parents still live in Manhattan Beach, love when I visit them, and I'm always in need of the warm LA weather. And of course, I bring my dog Lucie with me (pictured below) pretty much everywhere I go!
"Elissa's entire performance is nicely nuanced as she brings verve and restraint to her role, playing Reno to perfection. Her vocals and dancing during "Let's Misbehave" and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" are stellar and her vocals on "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Anything Goes" divine." -Liz Spear, Hermosa Patch
But seriously, back to the important stuff. I've been doing the whole performing thing ever since I was young. In fact, my first ever singing solo was during my preschool Spring Sing in which I made the Montessori debut of "Till There Was You" from The Music Man. And I performed in award-winning choirs and orchestras in middle and high school, and in annual June dance studio shows for more than a decade starting back in 2004.
Since then, I've done a heck of a lot of performing. In 2013, I was nominated for a JRAY Award for best (female) soloist of the year (Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes"), and came in 2nd! In 2015, I also came in 2nd place in the Lehigh Valley chapter of the NATS classical division. Since then I've been doing a whole bunch of different shows. 2018 "Beauty and the Beast". 2017 "The Pirates of Penzance" and "My Fair Lady". 2016 "Hello, Dolly". See what critics have to say about my work below:
"...Elissa Wells (was) a riot as (one of) the three Silly Girls, who hang on Gaston's every muscle flex.'" -Lehigh Valley Stage
"Elissa Wells plays the coloratura soprano Mabel. She was winsome and ably executed the vocal gymnastics required of the role, accentuated by the humorous extreme reactions of Frederick to her top notes in 'Poor Wandering One.'" -The Morning Call
and my personal favorite...
"Elissa Wells wears a bit as the whiny Ermengarde, but I think that's the point." - Kathy Lauer-Williams, The Morning Call