Marin Mazzie Dies at Age 57

Marin Mazzie, the veteran Broadway actor and concert performer, has died at the age of 57 after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer, TheaterMania has confirmed through her publicist, Kim Correro.

Mazzie passed away this morning at 10:10am in the comfort of her New York City apartment, surrounded by family and close friends, according to a statement from her husband, Jason Danieley.

Born October 6, 1960, in Rockford, Illinois, Mazzie graduated from Western Michigan University, receiving degrees in theater and music. She moved to New York City after graduating, landing her first role in a 1983 revival of Where's Charley?

Over the course of her career, Mazzie was nominated for three Tony Awards, for her performances in Passion (1994), Ragtime (1998), and Kiss Me, Kate (2000), for which she received an Outer Critics Circle Award. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for her work in Ragtime and off-Broadway's Carrie the Musical, as well as an Olivier Award nomination for her work in the London transfer of Kiss Me, Kate.

Mazzie made her Broadway debut in 1985 as a replacement for the role of Mary Jane Wilkes in Big River. She followed that as a replacement for Rapunzel and understudy in the original production of Into the Woods. Passion, Ragtime, and Kiss Me, Kate, followed throughout the 1990s, with Mazzie returning to Broadway in 2003 to take on the role of Aldonza opposite her Ragtime and Kiss Me, Kate costar Brian Stokes Mitchell.

In 2010, Mazzie and Danieley joined the cast of Broadway's Next to Normal to play spouses Diana and Dan. The pair extensively toured together with various cabaret shows and orchestral concerts throughout their marriage. Her credits also include Spamalot (as the Lady of the Lake), Enron (as Claudia Roe), and Bullets Over Broadway (as Helen Sinclair).

Mazzie had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in May 2015, while performing in the New York City Center Encores! production of Zorba. Despite multiple surgeries and the debilitating side effects of healing therapies (as she called them), Mazzie continued performing when the illness would allow, both concertizing and appearing on and off Broadway. In May 2016, Mazzie replaced Kelli O'Hara as Anna Leonowens in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of The King and I, marking her final Broadway appearance. Earlier this year, she costarred in Terrence McNally's Fire and Air at Classic Stage Company, marking her final off-Broadway production.

Through it all, Mazzie maintained a level of activism, working with the organization Cancer Support Community, as well as advocating against the financial disparity across the country in terms of healthcare methods. She was a firm believer in the power of positivity, as well. "What I try to instill is the positive outlook," Mazzie told TheaterMania earlier this year. "I believe that for everything. As I say, I'm the captain of my ship. I have doctors and I do a lot of spiritual stuff, but the mind is so important, and that has been instilled in me from the very beginning, through my surgeon saying to me early on, 'Your attitude is more important than anything we'll ever do for you.'"

In addition to Danieley, Mazzie is survived by her mother, Donna Mazzie, and her brother, Mark Mazzie. A private gathering will be held in the immediate future, and a fuller celebration of Mazzie's life is forthcoming.