{{short description|American actress and dancer (born 1984)}} {{Infobox person | name = Mara Davi | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1984|1|22}} | birth_place = Alameda County, California, U.S. | alma_mater = California State University, Fullerton | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|dancer|singer}} | spouse = Aaron Gaines (married 2008–present) | children = 1<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BuNGYejBUbv/?hl=en&img_index=1</ref> }}
'''Mara Davi''' (born January 22, 1984, Alameda County, California) is an American actress, singer, and dancer; she made her Broadway debut as Maggie Winslow in the 2006 revival of ''A Chorus Line''.
==Biography== Mara Davi grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2009-12-21|title=On the Rise: Mara Davi|url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/on-the-rise-mara-davi-2306881295.html|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Dance Magazine|language=en}}</ref> She began dance lessons at three years old at a local studio but later transferred to the Academy of Theatre Arts in Englewood, Colorado.<ref name=":0" /> She studied several styles of dance, including ballet, tap, and jazz, but enjoyed tap the most.<ref name=":0" /> Her family moved to Folsom, California, where she attended Folsom High School. During high school, Davi shifted her focus away from dance to musical theater.<ref name=":0" /> She appeared in numerous regional productions including: ''Annie'', ''The Sound of Music'', ''Gypsy'', ''Baby'', ''Grease'', and ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''.
Davi attended California State University, Fullerton where, during her sophomore year, she was chosen for the lead in the U.S. and Japan tour of ''42nd Street''.<ref>[http://baltimore.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=20484 "Mara Davi: Showin' Off"], broadwayworld.com, August 6, 2007</ref><ref>[http://cmd.ophth.uiowa.edu/hancher/42street.html University of Iowa 42nd Street credits] uiowa.edu, January 2005 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903043728/http://cmd.ophth.uiowa.edu/hancher/42street.html |date=September 3, 2006 }}</ref><ref>Bornstein, Lisa.[http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2006/Oct/09/stepping-in-line/ "Dancing in Denver shows since age 8, Mara Davi lands Broadway role"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715195215/http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2006/Oct/09/stepping-in-line/ |date=July 15, 2011 }}, Rocky Mountain News, October 9, 2006</ref>
==Career== Davi played the role of Maggie in the Broadway revival of ''A Chorus Line'', in 2006.<ref>Moore, John.[http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_4520020 "Broadway break delights teachers"], Denver Post, October 22, 2006</ref><ref name=bway/> She joined ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' on Broadway on July 30, 2007, succeeding Sutton Foster in the lead role of Janet van de Graaff.<ref name=bway>[http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=423545 "Mara Davi Broadway"] Internet Broadway Database, accessed November 16, 2016</ref> In March 2008, she was featured in the premiere of the musical stage version of ''The Band Wagon'' at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, in the role played by Cyd Charisse.<ref>Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/new-sun-in-the-sky-mara-davi-will-be-dancing-in-the-dark-in-san-diego-com-146614# "New Sun in the Sky: Mara Davi Will Be Dancing in the Dark in San Diego"], Playbill, January 7, 2008, accessed November 17, 2016</ref><ref>Stevens, Rob. [http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/13155 "Dancing in the Dark"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924085811/http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/13155 |date=2008-09-24 }}, theatermania.com, March 17, 2008</ref>
Davi returned to New York for the May 2008 Encores! concert presentation of ''No, No, Nanette'' in the title role, playing alongside Rosie O'Donnell, Sandy Duncan, Shonn Wiley, and Fred Willard.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/mara-davi-is-nanette-for-city-center-encores-beginning-may-8-com-149903# "Mara Davi Is Nanette for City Center Encores! Beginning May 8"], Playbill, May 8, 2008, accessed November 17, 2016</ref> In 2012 she was in a musical adaptation of ''The Toxic Avenger'' at The Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. ''The Toxic Avenger'' musical had plans on transferring on Broadway in the near future.<ref>Blank, Matthew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/photo-call-first-look-at-constantine-maroulis-as-the-toxic-avenger-com-186377# "First Look at Constantine Maroulis as 'The Toxic Avenger'"] Playbill, January 11, 2012</ref>
Davi made her Birdland cabaret debut in May 2008.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/drowsys-davi-to-make-birdland-debut-in-may-com-149387# "Drowsy's Davi to Make Birdland Debut in May"] Playbill, April 21, 2008</ref> She appeared on the Broadway stage as Judy Haynes in the 2009 New York production of Irving Berlin's ''White Christmas''. She played Daisy Parker who blackmails Derek Wills for a role in the fictional ''Hit List'' on the second season of ''Smash''. From 2011 to 2012 she played the role of Bianca Sanfino in "A Night on the Town",<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2054911/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7 "A Night on the Town"] imdb.com</ref> "Moonlighting",<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2108696/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7 "Moonlighting"] imdb.com</ref> and "Women with Guns"<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2256995/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7 "Women with Guns"] imdb.com</ref> the 5th, 9th, and 16th episodes of the second season of the CBS police procedural drama ''Blue Bloods''.
From 2011, Davi and pianist/composer Adam Waite have appeared as the band "Mara and the Bitter Suite" and released an album in 2012 titled ''Unspoken.''<ref>[http://www.maradavi.com/ "About"] Mara Davi site, accessed November 16, 2016</ref><ref>Music News Desk. [http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Mara-Davi-Announces-Upcoming-Album-Set-for-July-1-Release-20120630 "Mara Davi Releases Album"] broadwayworld.com, July 1, 2012</ref>
Davi starred as Joan in the Broadway revival of "Dames at Sea", which ran from September 2015 to January 2016.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/dames-at-sea-taps-its-way-onto-broadway-tonight-363613# "'Dames at Sea' Taps Its Way Onto Broadway Tonight"] Playbill, September 24, 2015</ref>
==Personal life== Davi married actor Aaron Gaines on June 8, 2008. They currently reside in New York.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fierberg|first=Ruthie|date=December 2, 2017|title=Smash's Mara Davi and Husband Expecting Their First Child|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/smashs-mara-davi-and-husband-expecting-their-first-child|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Playbill|language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|3581600}} * [http://www.maradavi.com/ Mara Davi web site] *[http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/111064.html "Chatting with Drowsy's Mara Davi Plus News of Peters and Bundy", playbill.com, September 14, 2007]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davi, Mara}} Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Alameda County, California Category:American musical theatre actresses Category:American female dancers Category:American tap dancers Category:People from Folsom, California Category:American stage actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:1984 births Category:Actresses from Sacramento County, California