Maryann Plunkett

Plunkett made her Broadway debut playing Sister Agnes in Agnes of God. In 1987, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Smith in Me and My Girl. In addition, she has made appearances in various films and series’ such as Little Women, Manifest, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and Dr. Death.

Plunkett graduated from the University of New Hampshire, and was a founding member of Portland Stage repertory company in Maine. She appeared on Broadway as Bernadette Peters's replacement in the role of "Dot" in Sunday in the Park with George in 1985. In 1987, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as "Sally Smith" in Me and My Girl.

She appeared in the 1991 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, in which she played Elizabeth Proctor opposite Martin Sheen as John Proctor, in an all-star cast including Michael York and Fritz Weaver. She was part of the Tony Randall National Actors Theatre company, and performed in their production of Saint Joan by Shaw in 1993 on Broadway. She performed in the National Actors Theatre productions of A Little Hotel on the Side by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières on Broadway in 1992, and in The Seagull by Anton Chekov in 1992.

Plunkett appeared in the television movies The Littlest Victims and Breaking the Silence, and in feature films including Claire Dolan and The Company Men. She guest-starred on episodes of Matlock, L.A. Law, Murder She Wrote, Miami Vice, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Law & Order.

She and her husband, actor Jay O. Sanders, appeared together in the Richard Nelson play Sorry in 2012 at the Off-Broadway Public Theatre.

She was nominated for the 2013 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her role as "Barbara Apple". Plunkett played the role of "Barbara Apple" in the other Nelson "Apple Family" plays as well. She and Sanders appeared together in the Off-Broadway production of That Hopey Changey Thing in October 2010 at the Public Theatre.

Plunkett and Sanders appeared in Sweet and Sad in September 2011 at the Public Theatre. Sweet and Sad won the 2012 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble Performance and the 2012 Obie Award, Ensemble Performance. She appeared in The Apple Family Plays in repertory at the Public Theatre, from October 22, 2013, to December 15.

Richard Nelson election trilogy

Plunkett and Sanders appear in all three of Nelson's new play cycle, with the overall title of The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family. The first play, Hungry, premiered in March 2016 at the Public Theatre. The second play, What Did You Expect? ran at the Public Theatre from September 10, 2016, to October 9. The third and final play, Women of a Certain Age, opened on election night, November 8, 2016, and runs to December 4, at the Public Theatre.

She and Jay O. Sanders were married in 1991. They met while acting on the television series A Man Called Hawk. They have a son, Jamie (born 1994).

Stage productions

• 1982: Agnes of God as Sister Agnes (Broadway replacement & US national tour)
• 1985: Sunday in the Park with George as Dot & Marie (Broadway replacement)
• 1986: Me and My Girl as Sally Smith (Broadway & Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical)
• 1991: The Crucible as Elizabeth Proctor (Broadway revival)
• 1992: A Little Hotel on the Side as Marcelle Paillardin (Broadway revival)
• 1992: The Master Builder as Kaja Fosli (Broadway revival)
• 1992: The Seagull as Masha (Broadway revival)
• 1993: Saint Joan as Joan (Broadway revival)
• 2008: A Man for All Seasons as Alice More (Broadway revival)
• 2013: The Apple Family Plays (in repertory)
• 2016: The Gabriels [trilogy] (Public Theater Original Off-Broadway Productions)
• 2019: The O'Casey Cycle (Juno and the Paycock, The Plough and the Stars) [Irish Rep O'Casey Cycle Production]
• 2022: The Notebook as Older Allison "Allie" Calhoun (née Hamilton) [Chicago; World Premiere]

Filmography

• 1989: The Littlest Victims (TV Movie)
• 1990: Star Trek: The Next Generation, episode "Identity Crisis"
• 1991: Deceptions: A Mother's Secret
• 1992: Breaking the Silence (TV Movie)
• 1998: Claire Dolan
• 2005: The Squid and the Whale
• 2010: The Company Men
• 2010: Blue Valentine
• 2013: House of Cards as Evelyn Baxter (season 1)
• 2015: True Story
• 2015: The Family Fang
• 2019: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• 2019: Little Women as Mrs. Kirke
• 2019: Manifest as Priscilla Landon
• 2021: Dr. Death as Madeline Beyer
• 2022: Showing Up as Jean