Valerie Perri is an acclaimed, award-winning stage and screen actress celebrated for her commanding portrayals of complex women, brought to life with depth, elegance, and emotional power. She made her breakout debut in 1979 as Eva Perón in the Broadway National Company of Evita, directed by legendary impresario Harold Prince. Her performance launched an enduring association with the role, which she has performed internationally to critical acclaim. Her “dazzling” and “compelling” portrayal in Chicago earned her a nomination for the prestigious Sarah Siddons Award (Chicago Tribune).
She brings a distinctive insight to the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, shaped by her experience working with him on Evita, lending a rare authenticity and immediacy to his work in performance.
Perri’s Broadway and touring credits also include the first National Tour of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, directed by Robbins himself, and work with Tony Award-winning director Rebecca Taichman and the original Broadway company of Indecent at Center Theatre Group.
Her extensive regional theatre career includes a celebrated run in Steven Levenson’s If I Forget, directed by Jason Alexander, earning a 2022 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination for Best Featured Performance. She also starred opposite Alexander in the record-breaking production of Fiddler on the Roof for McCoy Rigby Productions. Additional acclaimed performances include Emma Goldman in Pasadena Playhouse’s Ovation Award-winning Ragtime, Dolly Levi in 3D Theatricals’ Hello, Dolly!, and Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard for Musical Theatre West—earning a StageSceneLA Scenie Award for Best Musical Performance and a BroadwayWorld Best Actress nomination. She later reprised Norma Desmond for Moonlight Amphitheatre.
Her recent stage work includes Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Justice (Southern California premiere at Ensemble Theatre Company); the Dowager Empress in Disney’s Anastasia (Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, California); Genie Klein in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (in Los Angeles and at the historic Cape Playhouse); and the American premiere of Arun Lakra’s Heist at Arizona Theatre Company.
Off-Broadway and regional credits include Diamonds, Angry Housewives, and Harry Chapin: Lies and Legends at Pasadena Playhouse, for which she received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. She has also appeared opposite Melanie Griffith in The Graduate at Laguna Playhouse, and in the Maine premiere of Admissions as well as the West Coast premieres of The Last Schwartz and The Sweepers.
On screen, Valerie’s television credits include Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Truth Be Told, Criminal Minds, ER, Another World, Brooklyn Bridge, and Who’s the Boss?. Her film work includes The Out-of-Towners (with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin), Disney’s George of the Jungle, Grease, and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (with David Spade).
A celebrated concert artist, Valerie has performed with symphony orchestras across the United States and Europe, appearing at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the London Palladium, and the Frankfurt Opera House. She is also a recording artist; her album Sweet Conversation is available on all major streaming platforms.
Valerie shares her life with her husband, international photographer Cliff Lipson, and their twin sons, Jack and Benny, who are both composers, arrangers, and musicians—continuing a family legacy of artistry and musical expression.