Alice Ripley

California-born, Ohio-raised Alice Ripley knew from a young age that she wanted to be on stage. The attractive blonde singer-actress began working in community theater as a teenager and made her first appearance in 1976 as a monkey in a production of "The Wizard of Oz." Six years later, while still in college, Ripley made her professional debut at the Red Barn Theater in Frankfort, Indiana. After completing college at Kent State University, she relocated to Southern California and earned her Equity card working at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 1988. Four years of eking out a living on the road and in regional theater passed before Ripley landed the role that would bring her to Manhattan.