Mary Beth Peil

Did you know?!

1. First role

   Boris Goldovsky saw Peil sing Violetta in a Northwestern student production of Verdi's La traviata. She was invited to audition, got a contract, and made her professional debut in that role with the Goldovsky Opera Theater in the fall of 1962.

2. Big break

   Mary Beth Peil won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1964, and that victory led to a contract with the new Metropolitan Opera National Company. Risë Stevens, a co-director there, mentored Peil across her two seasons with the group.

3. A first

   Peil was the only credited regular besides the four young stars to appear throughout Dawson's Creek's six-season run, playing Evelyn 'Grams' Ryan in 74 of 128 episodes.

4. Early training

   Peil studied at Northwestern University with Lotte Lehmann, training as a soprano, and her senior recital took place on April 9, 1962.

5. A first

   Peil was the first Alma in Lee Hoiby's opera version of Summer and Smoke, which had its world premiere at the Minnesota Opera in 1971. She played the part again with the Chicago Opera Theater for a 1982 television broadcast.

6. Behind the award

   In 1995 Peil received an Obie Award honoring her performances in three off-Broadway non-musical plays: The Naked Truth by Paul Rudnick, A. R. Gurney's A Cheever Evening, and Craig Lucas's Missing Persons.