In the liner notes from Murney's album ''I'm Not Waiting
, composer Andrew Lippa says that he first met her in June 1996. He said, I was the music director for a Stephen Schwartz compendium called Snapshots
, auditions were going well, if uninspiring, until a certain Julia Murney (with whom I was, at the time, unacquainted) strutted into the room. She sang a song, a forever favorite ever since, called Imagine My Surprise
. Heartbreaking. Seeing as I was about to do the reading of The Wild Party'' in August, I wrote on my notes "Is she Queenie?!?!?" followed by several stars and excited doodles. Then, the director asked for another song, preferably something by Stephen Schwartz. la Murney: I know Meadowlark la director: That'd be great I didn't bring the music la pianist: (panic) la Lippa: (heroically) I know it, what key? (oh, the swagger, the cock-suredness. I did want to impress her, after all) Murney's
Off-Broadway theatrical credits include originating the role of 'Queenie' in
Andrew Lippa's
The Wild Party (2000) at the
Manhattan Theatre Club, opposite
Brian d'Arcy James,
Idina Menzel, and
Taye Diggs, for which she was nominated for the
Drama Desk Award for
Outstanding Actress in a Musical. She was also seen in
The Vagina Monologues,
Crimes of the Heart (2001),
A Class Act (2000),
Time and Again (2001), and
First Lady Suite. She appeared in a
musical version of the film
Saved! at the
Playwrights Horizons Theatre, which began previews on May 9 and opened on June 3, 2008. In August 2008, Murney played the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Evita at the
Wells Fargo Pavilion in
Sacramento. Murney made her debut on
Broadway in 2005, in the short-lived musical
Lennon. She was also seen in the Actors' Fund benefit concerts of
Funny Girl,
Chess,
Hair, and the World AIDS Day Benefit Concert
Pippin. She has also been featured on television in
Sex and the City,
Ed,
NYPD Blue, and various episodes of
Law & Order. Afterwards, Murney succeeded
Stephanie J. Block in the lead role of
Elphaba in the first national touring company of the musical
Wicked on March 6, 2006. In that role, she won an Acclaim Award from the
Cincinnati Enquirer for leading performer in a musical. She departed the tour on September 3, 2006, after six months, and was replaced by
Shoshana Bean. Murney then transferred to the Broadway production, reprising the role of Elphaba for a nine-month engagement, beginning January 9, 2007, replacing
Ana Gasteyer. Both on tour and on Broadway, she starred opposite
Kendra Kassebaum as
Glinda. Her debut solo album, ''I'm Not Waiting'', was released in May 2006 on the
Sh-K-Boom Records label. The album's title song was written specially for Murney by
Andrew Lippa, with whom she has a strong artistic relationship. Also on the album are a jazz acoustic version of the song "I'm Not That Girl" from
Wicked and "Perfect", which was written with
Tom Kitt. Murney can be heard on the original cast albums of
The Wild Party and
A Class Act as well as the Actors' Fund recordings of
Hair and
Chess. Murney played Mrs. Walker in ''
The Who's Tommy'' in
Oklahoma City from February 5–21, 2009. In September 2009, she appeared in the Signature Theatre's production of
First You Dream - The Songs of Kander and Ebb in Arlington, Virginia, with
Norm Lewis, Matthew Scott,
Heidi Blickenstaff, Eleasha Gamble, and James Clow. Her other Off-Broadway credits include
Queen of the Mist and
Closer Than Ever. In 2013, Murney received a nomination for the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her role as Tami in the play
Falling. She played
Princess Fiona in
The Muny's production of
Shrek the Musical from June 24–30, 2013. She returned to The Muny in 2014 to play Mayzie LaBird in
Seussical and in 2016 to play Donna Sheridan in
Mamma Mia!. Murney played Rose in the 2017 Cape Playhouse production of
Gypsy. In May 2013 Murney sang with the
Omaha Symphony in the concert "The Wizard and I - The Musical Journey of Stephen Schwartz" at the
Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The concert featured songs from
Godspell and
Wicked and the song "
Meadowlark". In 2017, Murney played
Sara Jane Moore in
Yale Repertory Theatre's production of
Assassins In 2021, Murney played the role of Arlene in Out of the Box Theatrical's immersive off-Broadway revival of the musical "Baby". In 2022 Murney appeared in the off-broadway production of
Between the Lines in the role of Grace/Queen Maureen. Both productions released cast albums in 2023 which Murney appeared on. == Selected theater credits ==