‘Canceled’ Broadway star Laura Osnes set to perform in Burnsville

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
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Controversial Broadway star Laura Osnes is returning to Burnsville, the town where she was born, to perform with the Minnesota Valley Women’s Chorale and Genesis Jazz Orchestra.

The pair of concerts, which celebrate the 10th anniversary of the chorus, are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 5 and 6 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Tickets are $20 via mvwcsings.org.

Osnes, 37, graduated from Eagan High School and studied musical theater at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for a year before dropping out to pursue an acting career. She was playing Sandy in “Grease” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres when she was chosen to compete in the 2007 NBC competitive reality show “Grease: You’re the One that I Want.” She won the show and went on to portray Sandy in a Broadway revival of “Grease.”

Osnes went on to establish herself as one of Broadway’s brightest young talents, starring in “South Pacific,” “Anything Goes” and “Bandstand.” She received Tony Award nominations for her roles in “Bonnie and Clyde” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”

But she earned national headlines in August 2021 when the New York Post reported that she had been fired from a one-night-only production of “Crazy for You” in East Hampton, N.Y., after refusing to follow the venue’s requirement that she get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Soon after, Osnes took to Instagram to announce she wasn’t fired, but chose to drop the role rather than get vaccinated. Her now-deleted post read, in part: “As I have not yet gotten the vaccine … I believe individuals have the right to do the research, consult a doctor and come to their own conclusions before deciding whether or not to get any injection.”

In the following weeks, Osnes also lost her roles in “Princess: A Disney Concert Tour” and a two-night-only production of “Bonnie and Clyde In Concert” in London that was to have reunited her with her original Broadway co-star Jeremy Jordan.

Back to work

Last year, Osnes moved to Nashville and took a starring role in “Shiners,” a new Las Vegas-style show that producers say is a comedic blend of Cirque du Soleil and Broadway. In a recent Instagram post, Osnes said “Shiners” had just hit $1 million in ticket sales.

In August, Osnes filed suit against the New York Post for defamation, claiming the newspaper’s “libelous conduct has caused, and continues to cause, (her) disgrace and humiliation, harm to her professional and personal reputation, mental anguish and emotional distress.”

Three months later, Osnes released “On the Other Side, Pt. 1,” a five-track EP of original songs that, according to a news release, “chronicle this past year’s journey of standing up, starting over, building strength and finding hope on the other side of cancellation.”

At the time, Osnes said: “The fallout challenged every aspect of my career, friendships, future and life. Without Broadway and the community I had known, I was in desperate need of an outlet to process my emotions and somehow create art again. I felt completely silenced, and yet there was something in me that knew my experience needed to be shared.”

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