Phyllis Somerville

Phyllis Somerville was an American actress whose career embraced theater, film, and television. She made her Broadway debut in 1974 as Wilma in the musical Over Here!, a Tony Award nominee for Best Musical. She appeared off-Broadway as the Witch in The Journey of Snow White and returned to Broadway in Once in a Lifetime in 1978. In 1983 she understudied Kathy Bates in 'night, Mother and later toured in that role, and in 1984 she originated Glory in Marsha Norman's Traveler in the Dark. She also created roles in The Sum of Us and The Spitfire Grill, and performed in Happiness at the Lincoln Center Theatre and in an all-female I Remember Mama. Her screen credits included The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Little Children (2006), and Surviving Family (2012), and she appeared in the television series The Big C and Outsiders.