Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman (née Freedman; born 19 March 1960) is a British actress and director, best known for her work in musical theatre.
She is a seven-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, winning three times for acting. Her first win was for her 1994 one-woman show, By Special Arrangement. She twice won as Best Actress in a Musical—for Fosca in the original London production of Passion (1997), and for Mother in the original London production of Ragtime (2004).
Friedman played the narrator in the 1999 straight to video version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
She played Elaine Peacock in the British television series EastEnders from 2014 to 2017. In 2023 the role was recast with Harriet Thorpe taking over as Elaine.
Friedman directed the 2013 West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, which won the 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.
She directed the 2023 Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along, which won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, the 2024 Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and a 2024 Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle.
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