ARIELA MORGENSTERN, SINGER & ACTOR
An award-winning singing actor, Ariela Morgenstern has gained recognition in the world of musical theater, cabaret and opera. A native of San Francisco, she returned home in 2016 after living and working in New York for the previous nine years. After a break from performing to tackle motherhood, graduate school, and the beast we called the pandemic, Ariela is thrilled to be returning to the stage this spring as Trina in 42nd Street Moon’s production of Falsettos!
Ariela was most recently seen tackling Momma Rose in Gypsy at Bay Area Musicals (BAM), being featured in the World Premiere of the new musical A Walk On The Moon at A.C.T in San Francisco, and performing her sold-out solo show at Feinstein’s at the Nikko. Before returning home she had the honor of performing the role of Diana in Next To Normal at Baltimore Center Stage, and Franca in The Light In The Piazza at Arena Stage in D.C. and Theatreworks in California. She created the featured role of Ms. Wilde in the new National Tour of Flashdance the Musical, under the helm of director and choreographer Sergio Trujillo.
Upon returning to San Francisco, Ariela immediately collaborated once again with her fellow Rococo Risqué theater company members (voted Best Theater Ensemble by the SF Weekly) to create political satire/sketch comedy videos as the troupe Advantage Personal Hygiene. She returned to the classical world in Pocket Opera’s a Vie Parisienne, and recently made her 42nd Street Moon debut as Baruska in the TBA Award-Winning production of Once (Best Ensemble in a Musical.)
She is a champion of new music, and was in the original Off-Broadway production of the Award-Winning musical Adding Machine, as well as performing as the soloist in Imant Raminsh’s The Symphony of Psalms at Carnegie Hall.
After specializing in his music for many years as a cabaret singer, she was honored to win in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s International Lotte Lenya Competition.
Other theatrical lead credits include Signora Naccareli in The Light In The Piazza (The Fingerlakes Musical Theatre Festival) Jenny in The Threepenny Opera (Marvel Rep, Drama Desk-nominated, and West Bay Opera), Aldonza in Man Of La Mancha (Flat Rock Playhouse), Kate Haroney in I Married Wyatt Earp (Prospect Theatre), and last but certainly not least, the title role in Carmen with the Pacific Repertory and the San Francisco Lyric Opera, as well as many other operatic roles in the Bay Area.
Ariela was in the new movie Easter Mysteries, a musical feature filmed live in New York starring Broadway stars and Tony Nominees, Philip Boykin (Porgy & Bess). Wallace Smith (Les Miserables), and Erin Davies (Sideshow), and shown in selected theaters across America.
She is now a member of the professional faculty at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business teaching leadership communications, storytelling, and executive coaching skills in their Executive and MBA programs, and is faculty coach and program director with the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. She also teaches a monthly acting class with her mother Inara as accompanist, the Singing Actor Studio, and people of all levels are welcome! In addition to her studio, she has enjoyed teaching at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and with the Stanford University vocal department.
Ariela received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Theatre at the University of Santa Cruz, and is a master’s candidate in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University, where she did research on how leaders of color navigate bias and dominant culture norms.
Resume
For full resume please visit my ActorsAccess page here.
Awards
Lotte Lenya Competition, 2nd Place
Union Affiliation
Actor's Equity Association